We invited nearly every friend and family member we could think of to our Oktoberfest Hauswarming Party! Apart from great food (brats and sauerkraut, anyone?), entertainment, and some other awesome Oktoberfest Party Ideas, we also wanted to send each guest home with a tasty Oktoberfest party favor – which means we would need a favor that was easy-to-make and would appeal to our large guest list.
There were tons of easy personalized Oktoberfest Party Invitations and Favors to choose from that required no work from me at all. But I couldn’t help baking up something sweet for my 80+ guests. I decided on Oktoberfest theme gingerbread cookies – how fun!
Because I had to make A LOT of cookies, I started with this simple gingerbread cookie recipe from Food Network. (Don't forget to chill your dough beforehand - it makes rolling so much simpler!) Heart-shaped cookies are perfect for Oktoberfest, by the way. Germans traditionally give gingerbread heart cookies with mottoes on them to family and friends during Oktoberfest! Too cool!
After I made dozens and dozens of cookies (those aren't even all of them pictured above!), it was time to decorate. I don't have much experience piping frosting, but I knew I needed to have this great royal icing recipe from Cake Journal. I divided the icing between three different bowls and added red and blue food coloring to two of them. (Icing Tip: Cover your bowls of icing with we paper towels, so it doesn't harden!)
Fill your icing bags with your mixtures, making sure to either use a #1 or #2 piping tip, so you can draw designs and write "mottoes" on your cookies. Start with one color at a time like I did. I first drew a blue b border on each cookie, then added the word "Prost" or "Love", and finally dotted on a couple of hearts where there was room. After letting the icing harden for a few hours, I bagged the cookies in clear cellophane bags for guests to take and served the extras on trays during the party.
Of course, don't forget to add a little "motto" on your gingerbread just like the Germans do! My cookies were pretty small, so I just put the word "Love" or "Prost" (the German word for "Cheers") on mine. If your cookies are larger, try a couple of these traditional German sayings insted:
- Ozapt'is - It's tapped
- Ich Liebe Dich - I Love You
- Glueckspilz - Lucky Toadstool
- Mein Traumprinz - Prince Charming
- Weil I Di mog - Because I like you
- Meiner Kuschelmaus - my snuggle-mouse
Have fun making your gingerbread favors, and make sure to check out my other Oktoberfest party posts for more great ideas:
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