Description
St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Cookies bring big holiday cheer with simple round sugar cookies topped with green hats, fluffy white beards, and a sweet little nose. The decorating feels challenging, yet the steps stay doable when you work in layers and let each section set.
Ingredients
1 batch sugar cookie dough with about 1 teaspoon vanilla added, cut into 18–24 round cookies (3-inch)
1 cup green royal icing
1.5 cups white royal icing
0.5 cup flesh-toned royal icing (medium consistency)
Food-safe black marker
18–24 shamrock royal icing transfers (optional)
Instructions
1. Prepare the sugar cookie dough, add vanilla, roll evenly, cut into 3-inch rounds, bake, and cool fully.
2. Divide white royal icing into three portions: leave one white, color one green, and tint one flesh-tone.
3. Lightly sketch cookie sections for hat, face, and beard.
4. Flood the top section with green icing for the hat, then let it set briefly.
5. Flood the lower section with white icing for the beard.
6. Clear a small spot of white icing, then pipe a small mound of flesh-colored icing to form the nose so it attaches securely.
7. Add beard texture with thin white icing lines, then detail the hat edges and brim with green icing.
8. Place shamrock transfers on the hat if using.
9. Let cookies dry completely until icing is firm before serving, stacking, or storing.
Notes
Chill dough before cutting so cookies keep their shape.
Decorate only fully cooled cookies so icing does not melt.
Let royal icing dry completely before stacking or storing.
Use thicker icing for outlines and fine details, and thinner icing for flooding.
Store at room temperature up to 2 weeks, or freeze up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 90 to 120 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 to 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 81
- Fat: 3
- Carbohydrates: 14
- Protein: 1