Decorating gingerbread cookies with mastic. Master class on painting gingerbread with icing and dough for them

COMPOUND

gingerbread,
mastic

Mastic
First of all, you need to bake gingerbread cookies (for example, according to the recipe) and prepare mastic of different colors.
You can make mastic yourself (see recipe), but it is better to buy it in a special confectionery store.
Mastic can be of different colors. If you don’t have colored mastic, you can color white mastic by adding gel or water dyes to it, and then stirring thoroughly. If the mastic becomes sticky during coloring, you need to add powdered sugar.

Bonding liquid
Then you need to prepare a special glue that will glue the mastic and gingerbread.
Most often at home, liqueur, vodka or a mixture of vodka and honey in a 1:1 ratio is used.
But if you make a large number of gingerbread cookies with mastic, then it is advisable to purchase a special decorative gel. Decor gel is a transparent, thick, very sticky mass, similar to silicone glue. Decor gel is made on the basis of pectin or agar-agar. Most often, decorative gel is used to cover berries on cakes and pastries; it protects them from weathering and gives them a beautiful shine. Decor gel is also used in the preparation of mastic cakes - mastic parts stick to it very well.

Decorating gingerbread cookies with mastic
When baking, gingerbread cookies increase by about 2 centimeters. Therefore, to cut out the mastic for the coating, you can use a die cutter that was used to cut out gingerbread cookies.

To roll out mastic, it is convenient to use a flexible plastic board and a flat rolling pin; the rolling pin can be plastic or wooden. The mastic should not stick to either the board or the rolling pin.
Roll out the mastic very thinly and cut out the main shape to cover the gingerbread.

If you will use vodka or liqueur, then lubricate the back side of the mastic figure with it.
If decorative gel is used, then grease the gingerbread.
In both cases, you need to lubricate very lightly so that the layer of liquid is thin and the surface is semi-dry. If the mastic is wetted too much, it will begin to dissolve.
It is advisable to lubricate not with a brush, but with your finger, this makes it easier to feel the correct humidity.

Place the fondant on the gingerbread and lightly smooth the top.
Use your finger to round off the sharp edge of the mastic.

Or you can use special silicone confectionery molds called molds.

The mastic is stuffed into the hole and the mold with mastic is placed in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then the frozen mastic figurine can be easily removed from the mold.

Glue the resulting figures onto the gingerbread, forming the desired pattern.

Store gingerbread cookies with mastic at room temperature in an open container.

You can also watch:

Talented housewives have been painting gingerbread cookies for a long time. Painting gingerbread cookies is a pleasant pastime for beginners. However, professionals in this field classify this activity as creativity. Today, many women dream of learning how to paint gingerbread cookies. Therefore, in this article we will tell you how to paint gingerbread cookies with icing for beginners. Here we will reveal for you all the secrets of this matter and tell you what is needed for this.

What types of painting exist and what tools are required for this?

It is worth saying that today there are many techniques for decorating gingerbread cookies. There are simple and quite complex techniques here. Complex elements include openwork mesh and curls. Persistence is required to complete these elements. However, such a painting will make absolutely any baked goods look elegant.

To begin painting, you need to prepare the following tools:

• pastry tips and pastry bag;
• small spoons;
• needles or toothpicks;
• pastry spatulas.

This set can also be supplemented with special tools that are designed to create complex designs and complex techniques. If your home does not have such tools, then replace them with a simple plastic bag. It is filled with icing, and the tip of the bag is simply cut off with scissors.

Note! In order for the pattern to turn out elegant, the tip of the bag must be thin.

How to paint gingerbread cookies correctly

If you don’t know how to paint gingerbread, then you should consider some rules for painting them.

So, before painting the gingerbread cookies, they need to be cooled. The baked goods should rest for several hours.

A novice master must first make images of patterns on paper. They are placed in front of your eyes and are guided by them while working.

Even before work, you can study master classes on painting gingerbread. After watching the video, you will have at least some idea about this process.

In order to get the recipe for the perfect glaze, you need to use a unique recipe for its preparation. To prepare excellent quality glaze you need:

• take the white of a chicken egg,
• a glass of powdered sugar,
• a few drops of lemon juice.

Preparing the glaze is quite simple. In this case, the whites are thoroughly beaten with a mixer. Gradually add lemon juice and powder to it.

Painting gingerbread cookies in stages

Painting gingerbread cookies with icing for beginners is a great activity for everyone. It is worth saying that this painting work can be divided into several stages. Of course, first of all you should bake the gingerbread cookies themselves. You can use absolutely any recipe for baking gingerbread cookies. However, remember that the finished baked goods should not crumble or crack. Gingerbread, which is simply covered with glaze and sprinkled with sprinkles on top, is very easy to make. There cannot be any difficulties here. And if you use complex combinations, then you need to highlight the following steps:
Decorating the edges of the gingerbread. Decorating absolutely any gingerbread, as a rule, begins with decorating its edges. For these works, a nozzle is used that has the smallest millimeter. As a result, the line will look thin and graceful.

After you have applied the frame to all the gingerbread cookies, you should put them in the oven so that they dry there. As a rule, 10-15 minutes in this case will be enough. Remove the gingerbread cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 15 minutes. After this, you can start decorating the central part of the gingerbread.
In the next step, it is recommended to use a larger diameter nozzle. In this case, the glaze is distributed over the entire gingerbread. You can smooth out the glaze in certain places using: a needle, a toothpick or a spoon. If you are doing openwork painting, then use the thinnest nozzle. As a result, the applied mesh will perfectly imitate lace.

After painting the central part, the gingerbread must be placed in the oven. However, in this case, the gingerbread should remain in the oven for 20-30 minutes. After which the gingerbreads are taken out and allowed to cool.

The next stage is the final one. At this stage, the drawing is adjusted and new details are added. Then the gingerbreads go back into the oven to dry thoroughly.

Note! Painting gingerbread cookies is considered a painstaking task! Therefore, during this process, the icing in the bowl may dry out. Naturally, working with such material is not particularly convenient. To prevent this from happening, cover the container with the glaze with cling film. But if in this case the glaze has dried out, then it can be diluted with lemon juice. In this case, add a few drops.

Painting gingerbread cookies with icing

Painting gingerbread cookies with icing is quite common in our world. To paint using this method, you need to bake gingerbread. The appearance of these gingerbread cookies should resemble huge cookies. Painting gingerbread cookies with icing is a great way to pass the time. Now we will offer you a master class that is most suitable for beginners. But before telling all the secrets of painting, it’s worth talking about some tricks for preparing icing.

• So, you can prepare icing using a mixer. You can also beat the mixture by hand. But you should make sure that the mixture has a uniform consistency.
• The finest powdered sugar is used to prepare icing. It is recommended to purchase it at a specialized culinary store.
• The glaze should be made immediately before painting the gingerbread. But if you decide to make it in advance, then the mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, covered with film.
• After preparing the glaze, the mixture is allowed to settle. At this time, the powder will completely dissolve. The mixture will need 20 minutes to rest.
• To quickly dry the finished gingerbread cookies with icing, they are sent to the oven preheated to 50 degrees.

What ingredients should I use to make icing?

To prepare the icing you will need:

• 3 chilled egg whites;
• 500 grams of fine powdered sugar;
• food coloring;
• half a teaspoon of lemon juice.

How to prepare icing?

Preparing icing is very simple.

1. Place the whites in a bowl and beat with a mixer at low speed.
2. When you notice bubbles on the surface of the mixture, you should add powdered sugar and lemon juice.
3. Continue beating the mixture until you notice “peaks” on its surface. It should take you about 5 minutes to beat the mixture.

Note! If the icing is too thick, it can be diluted with drinking water.

Icing for painting gingerbread can have varying degrees of thickening. For example, liquid icing is used for filling. In its consistency it resembles non-liquid sour cream.

Thick icing can be used for painting. They use it to draw outlines and other elements on the gingerbread.

Icing of various consistencies is colored using food coloring.

Master class on painting gingerbread cookies with icing

So, in this case we paint gingerbread cookies in the form of small jars intended for jam. Watch this master class, and in this article you will also find a video on painting gingerbread cookies.

Work progress:

In conclusion
Today you were able to learn how to paint gingerbread cookies with icing for beginners. We hope that our advice will be useful to you. You will learn how to make beautiful gingerbread cookies that can be an excellent gift for any occasion.

Pay attention to the video: How to paint gingerbread cookies with icing.

We make a rose from mastic.
We sculpt individual flower petals, then sequentially, one after the other, roll them into a rose.

We make a sweet bouquet from ready-made dried flowers, alternating the flowers with leaves.

Mastic flowers served in this way can be an original dessert in their own right.

We sculpt flowers and figured decorations from mastic of different colors in advance so that they dry and harden a little.

To cover the product, roll out the mastic on a table dusted with a mixture of powdered sugar and starch into a layer about 5 mm thick.
We roll the layer onto a rolling pin, transfer it to the product, carefully level it, trim off the excess from below and smooth everything out.
We apply cornet patterns and glue colored sugar beads. The product is ready.

Or we install prepared decorations on the product.

On the surface of the icing coating, you can lightly moisten it with water and stick beautiful colored applications cut from thin sheets of icing.
We close the bottom edge of the covering with a decorative rope twisted from icing of two or more colors.
See below for necessary recommendations.

For Halloween, you can decorate a gingerbread or cake with this beauty.

Decoration with a braid made from strips of mastic, placed from a pastry bag on the table and slightly dried for ease of working with them.

Fondant can be used to cover the surface of any cake, gingerbread or cupcake.
If we are talking about a fruit cake, then it is best to first cover it with a layer of marzipan.
The sponge cake can be immediately covered with fondant, having previously greased its surface with a thin layer of apricot glaze or cream. If you would like to make a coating of colored fondant, please refer to the Fondant Techniques section.

1. Wet the surface of the pre-marzipan-coated fruit cake with cold water or strong spirits (gin or vodka). Grease the surface of the sponge cake with apricot glaze or cover with a thin layer of cream.
2. Before you begin, knead the fondant with your hands to soften it and make it more pliable. Place the fondant on a smooth, level surface.
3. Measure the diameter of the top of the cake and the height of the sides. Add a gap of 2.5 cm. Roll out a sheet of fondant to the desired size, 5 mm thick. To prevent the fondant from sticking to the work surface, constantly turn the sheet over and sprinkle it with a small amount of powdered sugar.
4. Use the palm of your hand to buff the fondant sheet to remove any rough edges or any stuck sugar lumps. Make sure there are no air bubbles left inside the fondant.
5. Use a rolling pin to lift the fondant sheet, press the edge against the edge of the cake, and then unroll it across the top of the cake to the opposite edge.

Hot preparation of glazes consists of thoroughly stirring or grinding the components specified in the recipe in a container placed in a water or steam bath. Chocolate or transparent glazes are most often prepared in this way.

They are also prepared using the hot method. boiled glazes, during the preparation of which the mixture of components provided for in the recipe is thoroughly mixed with a whisk and lightly boiled at a light boil until the desired glaze consistency. In this way, mainly milk or cream glazes with various flavors and dyes (cocoa powder, chocolate, etc.) are prepared.

The consistency of the glaze should be such that it covers the surface of the product, flowing around it and without chipping. You can adjust the thickness of the glaze mass by adding sugar or a few drops (!) of liquid. Having decorated the surfaces of cakes with glazes, you can apply various patterns or inscriptions on it, using separately prepared glaze, contrasting in color, or various drawing masses.

Using stencils is a very simple way to decorate virtually any cake, dessert or pastry in an original way.
This is a very simple technology, and such stencils are easy to cut out of thick paper or cardboard with a knife.
The possibilities are quite wide:
- apply a design, sprinkling with powdered sugar or cocoa depending on the color;
- apply a full-color design with food coloring and an airbrush;
- create a relief pattern on marzipan: roll out the dough with a rolling pin, using a stencil to create a relief;
- for restaurants, you can put a design on a dish or a cup of coffee.

Using stencils, you can achieve a wonderful effect when creating any additional symbols or congratulations on a product.

There's a lot of snow and it's everywhere right now, but how about making snowflakes sweet and turning them into truly wintery sugar cookie decor. For everyone who wants to master this magic, I am sharing a detailed action plan :)

Of course, you need to be patient to bake and decorate cookies, but if you want to create, the process will be a joy :) Moreover, such cookies are an excellent option for a handmade gift.

Sugar cookies

Ingredients:

(for about 35 pieces)

225 g butter at room temperature

180 g powdered sugar

1 egg at room temperature

450 g flour

1 tsp baking powder

- ¼ tsp. salt (grind into dust)

1 tsp vanilla essence or vanilla sugar

1. Beat softened butter with powdered sugar until a uniform, slightly whitened mass.

2. Add 1 egg, vanilla essence or vanilla sugar. Mix.

3. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Pour into the butter mixture, stir until all traces of flour disappear. Firm the dough with your hands, wrap in cling film and leave in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

4. Dust the rolling surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough to about 0.5-0.7 cm thick and cut out the desired shapes with molds. Cut the dough again into a single mass. Place the cookies on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, leaving about 2-3 cm between each cookie.

5. Bake cookies in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for about 14 minutes, the time may vary depending on the characteristics of your oven. The cookies should remain pale with slightly browned edges and bottoms. Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack. Due to their smooth surface, these cookies are perfect for decorating with icing.

Sugar mastic

Ingredients:

15 g powdered gelatin

45 g water

175 g honey (light and liquid, I used linden)

900 g powdered sugar

Cornstarch

For a bright white color, titanium dioxide powder (“Super White”, “Extra White”)

Gel food colors

1. Mix gelatin with water and leave to swell. Add honey and stir. Heat the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir. Heat for another 30 seconds until bubbles form on the surface.

2. Sift the powdered sugar into a deep bowl. Pour the hot gelatin mass through a strainer (clumps of gelatin may remain). Mix first with a spatula or spoon from the edges to the center, and then with your hands.

3. Dust the surface for mixing the mastic with cornstarch. Pour in the mixture and knead until smooth. The mastic sticks to your hands, this is normal. To make mixing easier, sprinkle the mastic and palms with starch.

The mastic turns out elastic and moderately dense. This honey mastic is suitable for covering cakes, decorating the surface of cookies and cutting out figures.

The mastic can be stored in an airtight container or in cling film for several months at room temperature or for about six months in the refrigerator. The mastic hardens in the refrigerator; it should be slightly heated in the microwave (about 10-15 seconds at minimum power), then the mastic will regain its elastic state.

Decorating cookies with sugar mastic

To decorate the cookies, I painted more than half of the fondant with “Super White” powder dye (titanium dioxide), which gives additional whiteness. However, it is not necessary to do this; the mastic already turns out to be a warm white color (therefore, it is better to use light honey). I colored the other part of the mastic with Americolor “Navy Blue” gel dye. To achieve the desired color saturation, the mastic needs to be kneaded with a small amount of dye: add a drop of dye or dye on the tip of a toothpick, knead the mastic until the color is uniform. If the color is not enough, repeat the steps and thus gradually achieve the desired color.

Sprinkle a silicone mat or other smooth surface with a small amount of cornstarch, and also sprinkle a rolling pin. Roll out a piece of white mastic with smooth movements, without pressing, otherwise the mastic may stick to the surface. Have cornstarch on hand and lightly dust the surface if necessary. Do not overdo it with starch; mastic can absorb its excess and become denser and less elastic.

For a white background of cookies, roll out the mastic to a thickness of about 1-1.5 mm and cut out circles with cutters. Using a silicone brush, cover the “underside” of the circle with water, apply it to the cookie, and smooth the surface and edges with your fingers. Cover all the cookies in this way. Combine the remaining scraps into a ball and heat slightly in the microwave. Then knead again, cool to room temperature, and roll out for reuse.

For colored decor, knead and roll out some of the colored mastic into a layer approximately 2-2.5 mm thick. Cut out the decor using a plunger in the shape of a snowflake or with curly cuttings. Leave the decor to dry for 10-15 minutes, then moisten the back of the snowflake with water and transfer it to the cookies, pressing firmly.

Pack the cookies in bags or in a box and tie with ribbon. Please your loved ones with cookies! :)

Pour egg white into the bowl of a mixer (combine, blender or just a saucepan), add water, but not all of it - about 50 ml. Just mix with a spoon and leave for 5-8 minutes. Then add a teaspoon of lemon juice and beat. It’s better, of course, to feel sorry for yourself and use a blender, mixer, or food processor. Whisk until the bubbles become small and the mixture increases slightly in volume. I use a mixer and beat with a whisk for about 3-5 minutes.

Now pour in the powdered sugar (as much as you measured) and start mixing (again in the mixer, at low speeds).

If I see that the powder does not mix and remains dry, I can add just a little water (from the remaining 60 ml). In this case, I added 2 teaspoons (add one at a time, mix and watch each time).

The icing should be thick. In America it is called stiff peak, i.e. hard peaks. If you take out the spoon, the mass stretches and then does not settle. This consistency is suitable for storage. If you are not going to use the icing right now, transfer it to a jar and put it in the refrigerator.

And if you want to start decorating gingerbread cookies right now, then move on.

We will need food coloring. I like American gel ones, you can also buy from us, for example, Americolor or Chefmaster (in any online store a la “everything for a confectioner”).

Packages are also needed. You can use regular plastic bags (for breakfast, for freezing, for storage) or order special cooking bags on Aliexpress, they are a little more convenient, but this is not important. Don’t forget the clamps (I haven’t found better ones from IKEA yet).

Another tool that is simply vital is... a regular toothpick! It will help to add color to the glaze, to spread the fill, to correct the oblique outline, and to remove all that is unnecessary.

Before I start drawing, I make simple sketches for myself in a notebook.

I like the white and blue color scheme for New Year's decor. Place some of our thick glaze in a separate small bowl, take some blue dye (at the very tip of a toothpick) and mix. If the color is too dark, you will have to add more white icing. Having achieved the desired shade, “thin” the glaze.

Add water a little at a time (literally a few drops). It is important not to miss the right consistency.

We need two options for each shade: one for the contour so that it does not spread, the second for filling. Icing for contour is similar in consistency to toothpaste (namely paste, not gel). For filling - like sour cream, 10-15% - spreads, but not very quickly.

Many people remember for themselves how the surface of the glaze is completely smoothed out after mixing. It’s convenient for me to just do it by eye.

First, prepare the icing for the outline, put about a third of it into a bag, and tie it. Add a little more water to the remaining icing, bring it to the consistency of sour cream, also transfer it into a separate bag and tie it. Now the important point. You need to cut a corner. For contour it is very thin - 1-1.5 mm wide, for filling it can be thicker than 2-3 mm.

We carry out similar procedures for each shade of glaze that will be used in the decor.

Now we can decorate our gingerbread cookies. For example, simply apply the outline of a snowflake to a “naked” cookie. Here you need your hand to be “steady” and not shake.

Another option is to make a background fill first (but still apply an outline before doing so so that the fill does not spread beyond the edges). In this case, you will need to let the background dry completely, usually 2-3 hours.

Here are the New Year's snowflakes and Christmas balls I made.

In general, “practice bakes perfect”! So go for it!

A simplified version of preparing egg white glaze in the video version of this recipe from chef Elena Stradze in the culinary program “At ease.”

If you liked this post, be sure to check out and.