It’s holiday time and with that most people think of decorated gingerbread cookies to eat and share. And with top 8 free cookies these can easily be made with all the holiday magic we can bring to the table. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to turn these delicious gingerbread people into adorable reindeer!

Bake all your gingerbread people and let cool completely. I feel overnight is best.

Make your safe icing and make three colors. I made white, gold, and black but you could use any color you like or have available.

Recipe for my safe icing: 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk. Add more sugar if it’s too thin or more milk if it’s too thick.

Now turn your gingerbread people on their heads.

Use the color you would like for the reindeer head and outline the face and use a little more to fill it in. Use a toothpick to spread the icing and get rid of any bubbles that might appear. Remember icing spreads a bit so leave a little of the cookie around the edge or it will turn into a Salvador Dali cookie and spread, slide, melt right off the cookies.

If you want to do the flood method (keep all icing flat) keep the outline for the nose, eyes, and inside ears and do not fill in.

Now add your second color to fill in the ears, nose and eyes. Again use the toothpick to spread the icing and pop bubbles.

Now be patient and wait for those areas to dry before you go to the next part. The antlers are long upside down J shapes with smaller upside down J shapes attached to the long shape. Do not make them too thick because the icing will spread.

Let everything harden and you can create some pupils for the eyes.

You can leave the cookies like this or add some more icing to the nose. It is completely up to you and they are your creations and look any way you like.

Next let dry for at least three hours or overnight is best to ensure if you are packaging these up you do not smash the icing you worked so very hard decorating with.

Enjoy!