Who says Gingerbread cookies have to be MEN?

I was wandering the internets last week when I stumbled upon a recipe contest at avonromance.com. It was a win-win. If I won, I got books; if I lost, I still got cookies!

There were a bunch of recipes to choose from, but I went with the Gingerbread recipe. I didn’t have any horse-shaped cookie cutters, so I free-handed a few shapes. The dough held my light knife strokes beautifully. The baking process made my whole house smell like Christmas.

I decorated them with an old Royal Icing recipe thinned with water, and painted on with small paint brushes.

I think they turned out adorable! Almost too cute to eat. I am vegetarian, after all.