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Gingerbread Train

December 3, 2013 By Francois

IMG_8764 rv3t The holidays are finally here!!! And what better way to start December than with gingerbread cookies? Today’s cookie project takes the classic gingerbread cookie to a whole new level. I’ve wanted to do a cookie train for awhile and finally found an easy way to put it together.

Here is how to make it:

Gingerbread Train
 
Print
makes one train
Ingredients
  • For the Gingerbread Cookie Dough:
  • 1 stick butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tbsp water
  • For Royal Icing:
  • One 2lb pack of confectioner sugar
  • ⅓ cup meringue powder
  • ¾ cup water
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix together butter, brown sugar and molasses. Add spices, flour and baking soda and start mixing again on low. With the mixer on, add 2 tbsp of water and continue mixing until the dough comes together. Roll between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Cut your cookies according to directions and bake for 12 minutes or until set.
  3. To make royal icing, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix sugar and meringue powder on low and gradually add water. Once all ingredients are combined, crank up to high speed and mix for 8 minutes.
3.2.1255

To make the dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix together butter, brown sugar and molasses:

Add spices, flour and baking soda and start mixing again on low:

With the mixer on, add 2 tbsp of water and continue mixing until the dough comes together. Roll it between 2 pieces of plastic wrap.

I used rolling pin spacer bands to get my dough as thin and as even as possible:

2013-12-01 07.52.51 pm

Rolling Pin Spacer Bands

Place the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

To shape the cookies, I used plain locomotive and train car cutters and tweaked them to create a 3D effect. Here is how it works: Each train car is made of 5 cookies that are sandwiched together with royal icing. To create a 3D effect, each of the 5 cookies is modified just a tiny bit.

Let’s start with the train cars. First, cut 5 cookies using the same cutter and set them on your baking sheet (the pic only shows 4 but you’ll get the idea):

IMG_8719

Next we are going to tweak the cookies to add a 3D effect. The 2 outermost cookies will need windows so cut those out using a tiny square cutter or a pairing knife. To shape the 3 other cookie layers, simply cut off the wheels:

IMG_8720

To shape the locomotive, it’s a bit more tricky so I took a better pic =) Cut 5 cookies and set on another baking sheet. The center cookie is the easiest (on the far right). You just leave that one alone. For the other layer, you just cut out pieces like so:

IMG_8722

Bake your cookies for 12 minutes or until completely set. You will want them crispy.

Here is how to assemble and decorate the locomotive using royal icing. First add the following details (no need to decorate the areas that will be sandwiched over):

IMG_8747

Then add a bunch of frosting where the cookies will be sandwiched:

IMG_8748

And stack together:

IMG_8749

For the train cars, have fun with different designs. I used peppermint candies for the wheels:

IMG_8744

And use royal icing to sandwich them together (oh yeah, avoid royal icing on the upper part of layer #2 or it will show through the window cut-outs):

IMG_8745

Done!

IMG_8764 rv3t

Happy Holidays!!!

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Filed Under: Cookies, Recipes Tagged With: christmas, Cookies, gingerbread, train

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Beth @ Hungry Happenings

    December 3, 2013 at 9:58 am

    Oh, the train reminds me of the little choo choo we always had under our Christmas tree. I’d put my tiny little stuffed animals or dolls in it and drive it around the tree for hours. That was many, many years ago.

    Your gingerbread train is really beautiful. I really like how you cut and layered the cookie pieces.

  2. Miss Overballe

    December 3, 2013 at 10:12 am

    Gorgeous!! So gorgeous 🙂

  3. Tamara

    December 3, 2013 at 10:21 am

    Very imaginative and beautiful.

  4. Marlyn

    December 3, 2013 at 10:50 am

    What a wonderful project, this would absolute amaze the kids.

  5. Kim

    December 3, 2013 at 10:58 am

    I love it . thank you for sharing. i think i will try this but make the car part hollow and put candy in it. just a thought. don’t know if it would work. but hey the fun of it is trying and if it doesn’t work just eat it .. haha

    • Francois

      December 3, 2013 at 11:16 am

      What an awesome idea! Totally doing it!

  6. Kim

    December 3, 2013 at 11:20 am

    sweet i’ll wait for your next post on it haha

  7. Melanie @ Carmel Moments

    December 4, 2013 at 6:05 am

    So cute. I bet my 5 year old son would love to make this together. Now, if we can just find the time and Mom can find the patience. 🙂

  8. Marysol

    December 4, 2013 at 7:35 am

    Baking gingerbread is something the kid in me looks forward to every Christmas.
    And your GB train is so adorable, I might just try to recreate it.

  9. R Wells

    December 5, 2013 at 9:43 am

    I’ve got to do this for my husband! He’s a big rail enthusiast, and he’s been asking me to make a gingerbread house for ages….

  10. Rina

    December 18, 2013 at 11:38 am

    amazing! awesome! very creative! would you be so kind to advice where shall I order a such train cutter?

    • Francois

      December 18, 2013 at 1:42 pm

      Hi Rina,
      Here are a couple of sets:
      . http://www.amazon.com/Cuisipro-Green-Train-Cookie-Cutters/dp/B001CQO73M/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_y
      . http://www.amazon.com/Piece-Cookie-Cutter-Set-TRAIN/dp/B00GSXKE7W/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1387402926&sr=1-1

      • Rina

        December 18, 2013 at 3:16 pm

        thank you very much!

Trackbacks

  1. The Chic Site says:
    December 13, 2013 at 6:01 am

    […] Choo choo!  All aboard the gingerbread train! Francois of Sweet Explorations has a tutorial to teach you how to make this beautiful gingerbread train. […]

  2. Friday Link Love - Holiday Baking Edition | Because I Like Chocolate says:
    January 13, 2014 at 4:05 pm

    […] Pops from SugarHero!- Buckeye Bark from Chocolate Chocolate and More- Kransekake from Kumquat- Gingerbread Train from Sweet Explorations- Seven Layer Chocolate Truffles from the Kitchn- The Best Almond Brittle […]

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