Currently, there are a considerable number of online culinary stores where you can familiarize yourself with the main types of cooking molds. If you want to create something of your own and creative, then on a piece of paper you can draw a template. It is worth noting that small details should be avoided as they are very difficult to transfer onto stencils.

Using improvised means

Using several techniques, you will be able to create the best possible molds for the production of quality and delicious gingerbread. If you do not have time to make stencils and molds, then you can use the tools at hand.

In this case, it can be a wide variety of options:

Mugs, cups, glass, wine glasses
You can cut something yourself with a knife
Borrow toys from your child that he uses to make Easter cakes (just wash and disinfect them first)

There are many methods, but each person finds a method that is easiest for him to implement. The most important thing is the dough. If you made delicious cookies, then no one will pay attention to their shape. This method has already been practiced by many housewives. You can use a mug to make simple circles that you can decorate.

This cookie will be in great demand, so hurry up, the New Year is coming soon and you need to prepare for production. Cookies and gingerbread cookies can be prepared in advance, as they will not spoil, and for tea this is the best delicacy.

How to make stencils

Stencil, one of the simplest and most effective methods for creating optimal shapes for gingerbread. You will need to find on the network and download special templates for cutting ready-made forms. To complete the task, you will need: cardboard, scissors, template, stationery.

First, we cut out the template from the printed sheet, then we put the resulting sketch on the cardboard and also cut it out. Thus, we get a ready-made blank, which is fully suitable for making cookies. The required materials, you can find at home without any problems. The cardboard should only be from food products.

Do not use it on household appliances, shoes and other goods, as it has an unpleasant odor.
Roll out the dough and lay out stencils on top. Cut out a cookie for each and place it on a prepared baking sheet. Everything is simple, economical and efficient. With the minimum investment of money and time, you have achieved the best result.

Metal blanks

The second method is much more complicated and requires the use of more important materials. You will need a tin strip, hammer, nails, bar, scissors, cardboard, paper. You can make figurines of almost identical quality to those sold in the store.

You need to follow the instructions exactly:

1. Cut out the optimal template from cardboard, the contours of which will have a shape. In this case, you can show all your ingenuity.
2. Next, using a block, place the prepared stencil on it. You need to hammer nails around along the contour. In this case, their height should be about four centimeters. Nails are installed only in places where the stencil is bent.
3. Next, the resulting contour is wrapped with tape and bent where the nails are. The result is a ready-made mold that can be used at home.

It is worth not forgetting that for gingerbread cookies, all the molds must be of high quality. You can file the edges to make them sharper. If you do not know where you can print New Year's stencils for gingerbread, then you are given the opportunity to use all your artist's skill and draw them with your own hands.

Storage of stencils and molds

After you have used your stencils and molds, you need to save them. In this case, you will need to use several basic techniques that will protect the material from external factors. Actually, cookie stencils which are made of high quality food grade cardboard can be put in a plastic bag. Thus, they will be kept away from humid air and stored for a long time.

Metal molds require more careful handling. After you have used these parts, you need to wash them thoroughly. In this case, you will remove the dough leftovers, which can be a great place for the bacteria population. Then wipe it dry and put it in a closet in a dry place.

The New Year is very soon, so I want to show you how you can make beautiful Christmas gingerbread cookies with icing. Painted gingerbreads can then be given to relatives, friends and acquaintances as a lovely present. And the most important thing is that your drawing will be unique, made with your own hands and with a soul, and such gifts are very much appreciated.

Today I will show you exactly how to paint gingerbread in the form of Santa Claus and a snowman, and how to do it without special molds and stencils. In the same way, you can draw any other gingerbread that you like. 2018 is the year of the dog, but this does not mean that DIY New Year's gingerbread should be made only in the form of dogs. And the more and more varied you make them, the more interesting your gifts will be.

The shelf life of gingerbread can be up to a year, so it is possible to make them in advance and not worry that they will deteriorate or dry out. This is very convenient, since on New Year's Eve, not everyone has a lot of time to paint.

New Year's painted gingerbreads are suitable for decorating any holiday cake, if you stick a long wooden skewer into the freshly baked gingerbread. This design has become popular not so long ago, but many people really like it, so I advise you to try it. I also advise you to look more if you do not know which one is better to make them.

It is necessary:

• Gingerbread dough
• Powdered sugar - 150 g
• Egg white - 1 pc.
• Lemon juice - 0.5 tsp
• Food dyes - 5 colors

Christmas gingerbread painting

I do not have stencils for New Year's gingerbread, but this is not a problem, because I found the necessary drawing on the Internet, redrawn it on paper and it's done. Then I cut it out. I roll out the finished dough in an even layer, about 5 mm thick. Then I sprinkle it with a little flour, put a drawing on top and cut it along the contour with a knife.

I do the same with the second workpiece. You can make them in any quantity and any size.

Next, I spread the blanks on a baking sheet with parchment or foil, at a distance from each other and bake at a temperature of 190 degrees, 6 minutes or until golden. it is important not to overexpose them in the oven, otherwise they will be hard. After baking, remove them from the baking sheet, transfer them to a wooden board and leave to cool.

Now I will briefly tell you a recipe for gingerbread icing at home. I drive one protein into the mixer bowl, add lemon juice and powder. Then I beat all this at the lowest speed of the mixer, 2 - 3 minutes. The mass will become thicker, whiter, but at the same time there will not be many bubbles in it, which will spoil the icing. Then I divide it into as many parts as you need for the drawings. I have one white color, which I leave that way, without adding dye and 5 others. I add dyes of the desired colors to each part of the glaze and stir until uniform so that the dye is evenly distributed. The consistency of the glaze should be medium in order to fit both the outline and the fill. Sweep a spoon over it, this trace should disappear in 10 seconds, if it does not go away for a long time, then you need to add a little water to make it a little more liquid.

Before painting the Santa Claus gingerbread, I put a leaf on top of the gingerbread and with a toothpick I outline all the contours for filling with different colors. To do this, it is simply enough to pierce the leaf in the right places without moving it.

I do the same with the preparation for the snowman, puncturing the necessary lines.

The technique of painting gingerbread with glaze is not difficult and you yourself will see for yourself now. First of all, I fill in the bottom of the coat, the beard, the lapel on the sleeves and the bubo on the hat. Never fill two adjacent parts, they will simply merge into one.

When the white color has dried for about 10 minutes, I fill in the red color evenly, and this is a hat, sleeves, mittens, coats and pants. And I make his face beige. Be sure to remember that after pouring each part, you need to shake the gingerbread to evenly distribute the fill.

When the main parts are a little dry, and this is another 15 minutes, I finish painting all the other small details, such as a mustache, eyebrows, nose, eyes, buttons and boots. Here is such a cutie gingerbread Santa Claus turned out. The photo shows that all the details were filled in gradually, because there are contours, and the drawing did not merge. Now I leave it to dry, and it takes from 12 hours to a day in time, at room temperature.

Now the next step is to paint a gingerbread snowman. The first step is to fill in white, namely the face, arms and torso. But the gap between the arms and the body should be at least 5 minutes, otherwise they will simply merge into one continuous part.

After 10 minutes, I fill in the lapel of the hat, the bubo and part of the scarf, which are red. Let me dry again.

After that, I fill in the hat, draw a star on the tummy, then finish the scarf and carefully draw the mouth and eyes in black.

Then I make a neat carrot, and on the hat and scarf, using the thinnest paintbrush, I paint snowflakes with white dye or a small amount of glaze. The snowman gingerbread is also ready, so I leave it to dry.

These are such cute New Year's gingerbread cookies with icing, I hope you liked my master class and you can also make them. As you can see, there is nothing difficult in drawing with glaze, the main thing is to fill it gradually and in parts, so that the details have time to dry out a little. Good luck and more inspiration!

Every year, the previously widespread, but forgotten tradition - the preparation of New Year's gingerbread, is again becoming more and more popular in Russia. In the New Year's bustle, housewives begin to look for different stencils for gingerbread.

Every housewife wants to please her household with something unusual, colorful and tasty on New Year's Eve, and this is especially true for the kids. It is for them that all this merry mess with "sweet pictures" (Christmas trees, angels, stars, houses, animals) in the form of cookies and gingerbreads is basically started.

To make stencils for gingerbread, just read the information on the Internet. You can buy many different ready-made forms for gingerbread, but they are, however, not cheap, and the molds put in the kit may not be pleasant. And you can make stencils with your own hands, because it will not be expensive and fast at all.

Stencil figures can be anything you like, and this will add a touch of exclusivity to your baked goods. There are many different options for making stencils, but there are two main ones:

• cardboard templates;
• metal stencils.

The dough for gingerbread and cookies is usually rolled out in a thin layer, and to cut out figures of different shapes, a knife and stencils of different shapes will be enough.

Cardboard option

Making cardboard stencils for gingerbread cookies and gingerbread is very easy. To do this, you need to prepare:

• template and cardboard;
• scissors and a pencil for stroking.

1. You can draw templates yourself, or you can download them from the Internet. It can be a variety of Christmas-themed figurines, in the form of snowmen, Santa Clauses, Snow Maidens, snowflakes, deer, circles, sweets. But if there is no time, then instead of a template, you can use, for example, an inverted glass in order to quickly shape cookies in the form of circles.
2. The templates are cut out and transferred with a pencil stroke on the prepared cardboard. It is better if the cardboard comes from food bags: after milk or juice. This cardboard is moisture resistant and will last longer than usual.
3. The resulting stencil is carefully cut with scissors.
4. Next, the resulting stencils are laid out on the rolled dough and figures are cut out along their contours with a knife. Everything is very simple and fast!

Gingerbread Template Options:

Ready-made molds

If you don't want to work with cardboard stencils, and there is no time to cut out each element with a knife, it is better to buy ready-made gingerbread molds in stores. Gingerbread cookies are formed by extruding figures from rolled gingerbread dough, or cookie dough, with a metal stencil.

Advantages and disadvantages

Purchased metal stencils have undeniable advantages:

• the service life will be very long;
• the use is very simple;
• in a short period it is possible to quickly cut out many different shaped gingerbread and cookies;
• stencil care is very simple: rinse and dry.

The disadvantages are that with this choice there will be no room for imagination. And if the set does not include, for example, Christmas trees, but you want just such a gingerbread shape, then you will have to choose the next option - to make the stencils yourself from metal.

Option using metal stencils

DIY gingerbread cookie molds are a versatile opportunity to cook something exceptional, unique. They can be made from metal stencils, which require the following materials:

• small wooden block;
• a few nails;
• cardboard on which you will need to draw a template for the future stencil;
• hammer;
• metal, tin blank.

Maybe someone will think this option is somewhat complicated and time-consuming, but as practice shows, the result is worth it. Now you can start making:

1. As in the first cooking option, you can choose a template on the Internet, or you can draw any desired drawing yourself on a sheet of paper. Then cut it out.
2. Transfer the resulting sketch to thick cardboard, then cut it off.
3. The gingerbread cardboard template must be secured to a block of wood with nails. Nails are driven in with a hammer at the bends of the template.
4. It is better to make a metal blank from a can of canned food (from corn, green peas, squash caviar). A strip is cut out, the length corresponding to the contour of the template, and 2 - 3 cm wide.
5. Bend metal blanks along the contours of the cardboard template, forming them along the hammered nails of the silhouette. The result is ready-made stencils for homemade gingerbread cookies and gingerbread.

Advantages and disadvantages

These stencils have undeniable advantages:

• these molds will serve for many years and can even be inherited from mothers to daughters;
• exclusive forms of gingerbread and cookies thanks to metal stencils will always stand out at the holiday and complement it;
• they are practical, easy to use and care for: just wash and wipe dry;
• does not take up much space during storage.

The disadvantages can be attributed only to the fact that it takes time to manufacture, but after that only you will have your own unique stencils for decades to come. You will not need to rack your brains on the eve of the holidays, what and how to cook.

Positive little things

Having made stencils with her own hands, the hostess gets additional advantages for herself in the preparation of confectionery:

1. The confectionery industry adds preservatives to its products, it's not a secret for anyone. And with the help of stencils, it becomes possible to cook wonderful sweet treats at home without unnecessary additives. In addition to this, there is an opportunity to improve the recipes according to your taste preferences.
2. When molding gingerbread cookies, you can make small holes on each of them, so that afterwards you can thread strings or colored ribbons into the finished sweets and hang them on the Christmas tree. And you can make beautiful garlands from several pieces at once. A gingerbread gift with a ribbon bow for Christmas and New Year is also very effective.
3. The most common and popular figures of gingerbread and cookies on the New Year's theme are stars, snowflakes, Christmas trees, deer, little men, snowmen and Santa Clauses with Snow Maidens, sweets, sleds, mittens, angels and bells.

Some secrets

Using stencils according to the above options, hand-made gingerbread and cookies are guaranteed to be beautiful and original. But, so that they are also very tasty, there are also some secrets:

• for crispy cookies, it is better to roll out the dough thinner to 3-4 mm;
• roll out the dough for soft, crumbly cookies and gingerbread 7-8 mm;
• gingerbread and cookies are made on the basis of butter, therefore, before rolling out the dough and forming sweets, the dough must be cooled in the refrigerator for twenty or thirty minutes;
• due to the fact that gingerbread contains many different spices and spices (ginger, vanilla, cinnamon), it is good to use a coffee grinder to grind them, the dough consistency will become more uniform.

New Year's delicacy recipe

In order to immediately try new stencils in action, there is an uncomplicated classic recipe for gingerbread:

1. Mix three tablespoons of soft butter in a saucepan with half a glass of sand, a glass of honey and heat slightly until dissolved.
2. Add spices to the cooled mixture: a teaspoon of ginger and cinnamon, a pinch of cloves and coriander, salt to taste and a teaspoon of cocoa.
3. Add two glasses of flour and an egg, knead the dough. Refrigerate.
4. Roll out the dough and cut the gingerbread cookies and cookies with molds.
5. Bake at 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
6. Cover with glaze.

Gingerbread is a popular piece of confectionery art in many countries. Everyday gingerbread is a simple geometric shape with white or colored glaze. Holiday, New Year's, Christmas, Easter gingerbread cookies are made of various, sometimes the most intricate forms, for example, gingerbread houses and castles. You can print stencils for gingerbread on a home printer, copied from a book, postcard or your baby's favorite toy.

Gingerbread is prepared from a specifically kneaded dough, into which spices, nuts, raisins, candied fruits and / or thick jam (jam) can be added for the "richness" of taste. In the form and with those components with which gingerbread is prepared to this day, they began to bake in the XII-XIII century. It was then that spices reached our region from the Middle East and India: nutmeg, ginger, cloves, chicken, star anise, coriander, mint, anise, vanilla, black and allspice, cardamom, etc.

In Russia, burnt sugar, dried and chopped cranberries, raspberries, bird cherry, and mint were added to the gingerbread dough to add color.

Interesting! Gingerbread in Russia was not just a confectionery. It was a truly "status", expensive gift for Forgiveness Sunday, before Lent, which was not even shameful to present even to the emperor himself. And the higher the status of the gifted person, the heavier the carrot was. The "Imperial" version of this delicacy was transported on a specially built sleigh, and this is a historically recorded fact.

Gingerbread "Kozuli"

These traditional gingerbread cookies are baked in the Pomeranian Territory - in the Arkhangelsk Region of Russia. Recipes have been stored and inherited literally for centuries. Gingerbread stencils need to be printed, the drawing should be transferred to cardboard and cut out.

Important! If you cut out a stencil for gingerbread with your own hands from cardboard, use only the one in which food products were packed: boxes from sweets, pasta, juices, etc. Shoe boxes or packaging from household appliances are not suitable for these purposes - they have an unpleasant smell.

Ingredients: 200 g of butter and sugar, 2 glasses of flour, 1 egg, 2 tsp. soda, 100 gr. powdered sugar, 2 tbsp. lemon juice. Spices: 1 tsp each cardamom and crusty, 2 tsp ginger powder.

1. Rub the soft butter with sugar, add the egg.
2. Put soda and spices in the flour, combine with the butter-sugar mixture, knead the dough. We put it in a cold place for half an hour.
3. Next, roll out the previously prepared dough with a layer of 5-7 mm.
4. Print stencils for gingerbread, cut out figures of snowflakes, angels, snowmen, gingerbread men, birds, bells, etc. Rationally, in order to get as little dough waste as possible, put gingerbread patterns on the dough, cut it out with a sharp knife.
5. We transfer to a baking sheet covered with baking paper, bake gingerbread.
6. On cooled roe deer, we apply a drawing with white glaze, or colored, using natural or food dyes.
7. White icing for gingerbread is prepared from 250 gr. powdered sugar and 1 raw chicken egg white. With a fork or spoon, these components are intensively mixed for 10-12 minutes until a homogeneous mass is formed.

Readiness is checked as follows: draw a line on the surface of the glaze with the device used for whipping. The surface of the finished glaze will return to its previous appearance within 10 seconds. If the consistency is too thick, you can correct it by adding cold boiled water drop by drop. Add a little icing sugar to too thin icing.

Colored gingerbread icing is obtained by adding a little food coloring to the white one. If there is a “handy” man in the house, he will make molds for you from dense food tin according to stencils. For this, jars of canned peas, corn, pineapples, mushrooms, etc. are suitable. Detailed information, videos and master classes contain numerous network resources.

To use more than once, gingerbread stencils can be printed and cut out of plastic, simple figures can be made from cans of drinks and beer, molds for making sand cakes can be very interesting (just do not forget to wash them thoroughly).

The winter holidays are approaching. For the New Year, it is customary to cook fragrant, bright and beautiful gingerbread cookies, which can be an excellent gift, decorate a Christmas tree or just a delicious treat for children and adults. For gingerbread cookies, not only a tasty dough is important, but also a bright and tasty icing. It is recommended to make gingerbread in the form of stars, Santa Clauses, snowflakes, snowmen, shoes and other festive symbols. It is quite difficult to make figures without stencils. In this article, you will find bright and unusual New Year's stencils for gingerbread, methods of making them, and tips for creating delicious gingerbread.

Making cookies using stencils

You can purchase stencils for making homemade gingerbread cookies at the store or make your own. Such stencils look like a schematic representation of various animals, birds, New Year's characters and objects. At the same time, they do not contain unnecessary details, so after cooking the cookies really resemble what was depicted on the stencil.

To make cookies, you must adhere to the following scheme:

1. Download and print stencils, pre-specifying the desired size. Most often, gingerbread cookies are prepared quite large (about 15 cm). However, you can make smaller gingerbread cookies to use to decorate your Christmas tree.
2. Cut out stencils.
3. Ready-made silhouettes must be glued onto high density cardboard. The denser the material used, the more durable the finished templates will be. Ready-made gingerbread templates can be used for several years.
4. The template must be applied to the thinly rolled dough and cut out the dough with a sharp knife. To make the gingerbread neat, you first need to cut out the contours of the figure, and then the small details.

Options for New Year stencils

Stencil No. 1

Stencil No. 2

Stencil No. 3

Stencil No. 4

Stencil No. 5

Stencil No. 6

Stencil No. 7

Stencil No. 8

Stencil No. 9

Stencil No. 10

Stencil No. 11

Using this method makes it possible to bake cookies of any size and shape. You just need to find the required stencil and print it. However, the labor intensity is high. It takes a lot of time to cut one figure. Therefore, in some cases, it is recommended to resort to the use of ready-made metal stencils.

Cooking gingerbread using metal stencils includes the following steps:

1. Buy metal stencils for cookies. Give preference to sets that include New Year's characters and items.
2. Roll out the dough. Press the stencil against the dough to cut the cookies into the desired shape using the sharp edges of the metal parts.

This method of making cookies is much simpler than the previous one, however, in this case, you will not be able to choose the necessary forms on your own, and you will have to be content with the offered assortment.

The advantages of using ready-made metal stencils include an almost unlimited service life, ease of use and high speed of preparation. In just a few minutes, you can turn a piece of dough into a variety of colorful gingerbread, which you just have to place in the oven.

Making metal stencils for gingerbread

However, if you want to use convenient metal forms, but you do not like the assortment offered by the stores, you can also make such a stencil yourself. Christmas gingerbread stencils are a versatile way to prepare a traditional treat. And if you cut the shapes out of metal, then they can be used for decades. The only condition is that a man must take part in the production.

The main steps for making homemade metal stencils for gingerbread:

1. First you need to cut a long strip of tin. For this, it is convenient to use used cans from canned food, for example, green peas or corn.
2. Attach the pre-printed paper templates to the wooden board and secure them so that they do not move as you work. We hammer nails into the nodal points of the silhouette.
3. We bend a strip of tin according to the resulting silhouette. Hammered nails help to accurately follow the intended silhouette.
4. After that, the strip must be fastened so that a closed figure is obtained.
5. To work safely with homemade forms, the edges must be carefully processed, for example, with a file.

Secrets of making delicious and original Christmas gingerbread

To make the gingerbread delicious and beautiful, it is not enough just to know the recipe and apply it in practice. There are cooking secrets that make it possible to transform a regular cookie and an original dessert.

• If you want to use gingerbread stencils, it is best to print Christmas forms on thick cardboard. In this case, they can be used for several years.
• If you want crispy biscuits, the dough should be 2-3 mm thick, and for a softer texture, use a dough about 7 mm thick.
• Gingerbread cookies are made with butter. Therefore, each portion of the dough must be removed from the refrigerator just before rolling out.
• Gingerbread cookies can contain not only ginger, but also cinnamon, vanilla and other spices. It is recommended to grind them before adding the dough with a coffee grinder so that the structure is homogeneous.

Gingerbread is the most popular treat for the winter holidays. Use unusual stencils, bright icing and original recipes for their preparation to surprise guests and family.