Make adorable 3D gingerbread Christmas cookies!

In today’s post: Learn how to make adorable 3D Christmas cookies.

You ever see something online and just know that you have to have it? Well, that’s what I thought when I came across these 3D Christmas cookie cutters (affiliate link). My kids LOVE baking, especially at Christmas, so I knew I’d need to order these cutters and give them a shot. I’m glad I did, because these 3D Christmas cookies turned out to be a huge hit!

This is what the 3D cookie cutters look like:

Basically, you cut out two (or three) pieces for each cookie. The pieces have notches where you fit them together so they’ll stand up on their own. We made reindeer:

Christmas trees:

And snowmen:

The package also comes with cookie cutters to make a sled.

How to make 3D gingerbread Christmas cookies

Watch this video to get a good overview of how to make the 3D cookies. Photos and more detailed instructions follow.

We used the “White House Gingerbread” recipe found here. I made a half batch and that was plenty to make about 24 3D cookies. You could also use a sugar cookie recipe, such as this one: Sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting. I would NOT recommend using the sugar cookie dough that comes in a tube at the store, as I’ve found that it doesn’t hold it’s shape when baked. You really want to use a dough that won’t spread too much during baking (that generally means a fairly stiff dough).

Step 1: Start by mixing up your cookie dough. On a cookie sheet liner or piece of parchment paper, roll some of the dough out in a large rectangle, sprinkling with flour as needed. Try to fill up the entire cookie sheet liner, and roll the dough to about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick.

Step 2: Start cutting cookie pieces with your cookie cutters, but leave the cut cookies on the liner! Make sure you leave space in between the cookies as you cut (as you see below) and be sure to cut out both pieces (or all three pieces) for each cookie you’d like to make. Then remove the excess dough, or “trash”, from around the pieces you cut out. I used a toothpick to help pick up the excess dough and remove it. Continue until just the cookie pieces are left on the liner:

NOTE: This method is backward from how I usually cut cookies. However, since these cookies are fairly detailed, it’s easier not to have to move them from counter to cookie sheet once they are cut out.

Step 3: Slide the cookie sheet liner onto a cookie sheet and bake the cookies until they are cooked through and the edges start to feel firm. For the gingerbread recipe I linked above, they baked at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes.

Step 4: If any of the notches have filled in during baking, use a sharp knife to cut them straight again. Do this immediately after removing from the oven – it’s much easier to cut them while they are warm. The notches don’t need to be huge; ideally they should only be about as wide as the cookies are thick.

At this point you can let all your cookie pieces cool completely.

Once cool, you can decorate and assemble your 3D cookies. I kept decorations very simple for these photos, but my kids went to town decorating their cookies. It was almost as fun as decorating gingerbread houses!

For the reindeer, I just added a mini M&M nose and a few stripes of white frosting to look like reins. For the snowman, I used pull apart Twizzlers for a scarf. And for the Christmas tree, I outlined it with white frosting and added a star sprinkle on top.

Pretty cute, right?

One last tip – when you open up your cutters, some of the notches may look very wide. If they do, just pinch them together so that the notches are straight and the two edges are parallel to one another.

Happy holiday baking!

Click here to order the cookie cutters (this is an affiliate link meaning I may earn a small commission, but it will not affect the price you pay!).

More Christmas fun:

25 Christmas treats to make with your kids

How to make cinnamon applesauce Christmas ornaments

35 homemade Christmas ornaments

Spinach dip Christmas tree breadsticks