Eiffel Tower Gingerbread Centerpiece
I can’t spend Christmas in Paris, so I’m bringing a piece of Paris into my living room with festive gingerbread decorations. My Eiffel Tower Gingerbread Centerpiece is beautiful to look at and smells divine, too. I love how warm aroma of spiced cookie dough lingers throughout the house.
updated form 2011
EIFFEL TOWER GINGERBREAD CENTERPIECE STEP-BY-STEP
Are you tired of the same holiday décor? Are you looking for creative house decorating ideas for the holidays? Deck the halls with gingerbread!
- Cookie Decorating Guide
- Beginner’s Guide To Cookie Decorating
- Ultimate Guide to Cut-Out Cookies (tips, tricks, troubleshooting)
- Royal Icing Recipe
- Small Batch Royal Icing Recipe
- Cookie Icing Recipes (includes vegan royal icing, glaze, fondant)
- Guide To Royal Icing Consistencies with Visual Help(what is stiff, flood icing, etc.)
- How To Freeze Royal Icing
- How To Make Royal Icing Transfers
- Royal Icing FAQ ( for example: how to make black icing, color bleeding, storage, and more)
- How To Make a Cookie Cutter Template
- Ultimate Guide To Cookie Decorating Tools
BAKE GINGERBREAD COOKIES
For centerpieces meant to be displayed, not eaten, I use my construction gingerbread cookie dough.
I first made Eiffel Tower Gingerbread Centerpiece in 2011. The template I used before was too narrow, and so I adjusted the template to make the Eiffel tower a bit wider. A wider tower is easier to decorate. Check the tools section for the template.
EIFFEL TOWER GINGERBREAD CENTERPIECE COOKIES
- To make the centerpiece I used 4 cookies:
- Round Base
- Eiffel Tower
- Small Tree
- Mini Snowflake
Position the Eiffel tower cookie on the round base and use a scribe tool or a toothpick to mark the pathway underneath the tower (steps 1-3).
DECORATE WITH ROYAL ICING
Let’s start with the base cookie. Ice cookie with 15-second consistency royal icing (steps 1-6). Set aside and let the icing dry overnight.
BRUSHED EMBROIDERY CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIE
Fit a piping bag with a round piping tip #3 and fill the bag with stiff icing. Start at the bottom of the tree. Pipe a scalloped edge line of icing (step 1). With a damp food-only paintbrush, brush icing inwards (steps 2-3). Dust icing with silver or white Jewel Dust – dip the dry paintbrush into the dust. Place it over the icing and gently tap the brush, dust falls onto the icing, and because the icing is still wet it will stick to it.
Repeat the brush embroidery technique, and remember to wipe the bristles into a clean paper towel frequently (steps 1-6).
Lastly, pipe a dot of icing on the top and attach a large silver pearl.
DECORATE EIFFEL TOWER COOKIE
I stared off by creating a piping guide. Gently scratch the surface of the cookie with a scribe (steps 1-2).
To decorate, I used a PME piping tip #1.5 and about 25-30 second consistency icing. First, I outlined the cookie and piped the design, following the guide (steps 1-8). It also helps to have a template close by and look at it once in a while as you work.
Continue piping line work. If you are not 100% sure how, watch the video. (steps 1-8). Let icing dry.
DECORATE SNOWFLAKE COOKIE
Snowflake cutters come in different shapes and sizes. If you can get your hands on some mins, get them. They will come in handy. But if you don’t have the same snowflake cookie cutter I used for this centerpiece, you can use another shape. For example, a star shape will also work. In my past tutorial, in 2011, I used a snowflake plunger cutter.
Decorate snowflake with white icing and immediately dust it with white sanding sugar (steps 1-8). Let icing dry.
ASSEMBLE EIFFEL TOWER GINGERBREAD CENTERPIECE
I prefer assembling gingerbread houses or centerpieces like this on a tray lined with a rubber liner. Rubber liner is anti-slippery, and it also makes using support skewers easier.
Use thick but not overly stiff icing to glue the cookies onto the base. For taller cookies like the Eiffel Tower, I use skewers to keep the cookie from falling forward or backward while drying. Let the icing harden overnight, and then you can remove the skewers.
Isn’t it charming? I love bare gingerbread with white icing. It’s so pretty!
BLUE EIFFEL TOWER
Try this easy ombre icing technique if you are in the mood for some color. Flood half of the cookie with dark blue and half with the light blue royal icing; both should be 15-second consistency (steps 1-5). Blend colors with a decorating palette knife (steps 6-8). Let dry.
Scratch the surface to make the piping guide.
Pipe lines with 25-30 second consistency icing using a piping bag fitted with a PME piping tip #1.5.
Once the icing is dry, you can assemble the centerpiece, and glue cookies on the base cookie. Use skewers to support cookies while the icing is drying.
I can’t make up my mind about these two. I like them both, and even though I’m partial to all-white icing, blue has that wintery feel that I adore.
MORE CREATIVE COOKIE DECORATING IDEAS
- Christmas Gingerbread House
- Gingerbread Snowflake Wreath
- Advent Gingerbread Centerpiece
- Christmas Ornaments via Sweet Ambs
EIFFEL TOWER CENTERPIECE FROM 2011
I fell in love with this decoration in 2011 and even though I updated my design, I think the old one deserves to be here, too.
My first design included a candle and a snowflake cookie cut with a snowflake plunger cutter.
TO MAKE EIFFEL TOWER CENTERPIECE YOU NEED
- RECIPES
- Construction Gingerbread House
- Royal Icing
- TOOLS
- Template
- Snowflake Cookie Cutters
- Tree Cookie Cutter
- Scribe
- Tipless Piping Bags
- Food-Only Paintbrush
- Edible Jewel Dust via Cookie Countess
- Silver Dragees or White Pearls
- White Sanding Sugar
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This post was originally published on December 15th, 2011. On November 17th, 2022 I updated this post with new step-by-step pictures and written text.
Hubby and I met in Paris, and a few years later we moved there for a year, living right by the Eiffel… so your post really brings me the nicest memories…. I must make this for the holidays this year!
Aaah Sally,
thank you for sharing your story. That’s amazing, living by the Eiffel Tower. Wow!
You’ve set up your page so the Eiffel Tower can not be pinned. Any way I try it ends up with everything BUT the tower.
Hi Barbara,
it should be fixed now.