How to attach icing to gingerbread biscuits?

[VoilaAnotherGimlet]

I'd like to decorate some gingerbread biscuits with fondant icing for my niece's birthday party..... how do I make the icing stick to the biscuits? Jam? Butter icing? All tips welcome!

[missmartha]

I think you can buy special glue for this. Confectioners use it.

Otherwise, why don't you use royal icing it's less fiddly?

[TobyLerone]

Jam's fine. But why are you using fondant?

[VoilaAnotherGimlet]

Thanks MissMartha! Hoping to go to baking show soon so can look for glue then. Am total amateur, but was hoping to use cookie cutter to cut out icing - would it be fondant icing for that? Isn't royal a bit like glace? - glacé always goes everywhere but where I want.

[Hassled]

Royal is like glace but thicker - think Christmas cakes. It's pretty biddable stuff really.

[TobyLerone]

Yes, you'd use fondant to roll out and cut, but a piping bag and royal/glacé would be easier I think.

[VoilaAnotherGimlet]

Ahhh - sounds like this is what I want. I had in my mind the kind of icing on the Waitrose gingerbread sheep etc Could I get royal icing into the same shape as the cookie? (Bear in mind am a complete klutz/ham fisted/waiting for 5 mo ds to be old enough to be blamed for dreadful cake decoration). I was going to do "5" shaped cookies for a 5th birthday.

[TobyLerone]

Just have a practice first :)

[VoilaAnotherGimlet]

X post! Sounds like I need to practice both options. Anyone know where I can get one pf Hermione's time-turners?

[VoilaAnotherGimlet]

X post again! Thanks all!

[VoilaAnotherGimlet]

Ok....so I made a batch and attempted to simply apply royal icing with a spatula. Results look like a 5 year old was involved. Sadly I don't have a 5 year old to blame.

So, wise ones, should I have properly read your advice and used a piping bag? I did an internet search and found advice on "flood icing" where you pipe an outline then fill in. Should I do this? I no longer have time for another trial run but can make a double batch and see how it goes (baby free couple hrs on Sat, party is Sunday).

All help/tips/ideas gratefully received!

[boosmummie]

this is what I used to do handbags/shoes for my DD. Did the job perfectly. And I am as cack-handed as the most cack-handed person in the world. If not more so.

[VoilaAnotherGimlet]

Ooh I saw that page before - nice to know it works! Thanks! Do you use a squeezy bottle and the exact nozzles etc?

[boosmummie]

I did, but I'm a sad bat perfectionist when it comes to things like that. Probably because I am so spectacularly crap at art and that's sort of art! I wanted to get it right and it worked. Have used many many times since and love it. Worth buying.

[VoilaAnotherGimlet]

test

[VoilaAnotherGimlet]

So the party was yesterday...and the biscuits were great! I bought a small piping kit and used a number 2 nozzle for the outlining which was far easier than I expected (it really does fall neatly!) and the "flooding" went very well on my first batch using tyhe technique on that link. The second batch was a bit rougher as the icing was not wet enough but by then I had an aching back from the tense concentration and was scattering sprinkles over it anyway so it didn't matter that it wasn't as glassy - I will know for next time. I'll also get a squeezy bottle for next time, the piping bag worked but was messy! All in all I am thrilled with the results, thank you all and esp boosmummie!