Y’all know I have a vintage tin can camper I renovated a few years back, and I documented the vintage camper renovation on my lifestyle site here. So, when I went to make cookies for the Holidays last year, I thought it would be really fun to bake Camper Cookies and set them up in my Nativity Scene. I realize that there were not RV parks when Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem so this is not historically accurate but you have to admit that these are cute as heck together and a super fun baking project for anyone who loves Campers around the holidays or anytime!
If you do love Vintage Tin Can Campers or Campers of any variety, the fun of baking Camper Cookies is that you can decorate them to match your own camper. As you can see in the pictures, I did mine to match the blue and white colors on my camper but you can obviously decorate to match your own camper or whatever colors “spark joy” (Marie Kondo reference lol).
There are lots of camper cookie cutters to choose from on Amazon, but I went with one that had extra lines on the camper to show me where the doors and windows would be to give me a better guide for icing.
For this recipe, I adapted a gingerbread recipe from Taste of Home and finished it with Royal icing. Royal icing is key for this as you want the icing to set and dry versus a buttercream style icing which would not work as the icing would get messed up if you stacked the cookies.
This is a Holiday tradition I’ve started and now I think I might need to add to the scene- what do you think I should add? Grills? Flamingos? The only thing with tall and skinny flamingos I’ve found is that their necks break easily when making cookies but maybe gingerbread is hearty enough versus sugar cookies to stand up to the task!
If you do make these Camper Cookies, don’t forget to tag me on my social accounts @grillgirlrobyn on instagram and facebook so I can share on my feed and if you are not following yet please give me a follow so you’ll stay up to date on all my latest adventures!
If you’re a big baker for the holidays, we’ve got tons of recipes for on GrillGirl.com! Some favorites include Smoked Chai Tea Pumpkin Pie, Smoked Derby Pie, and Smoked Bourbon and Salted Caramel Apple Pie.
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Gingerbread Camper Cookies
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Description
Adapted from TasteOfHome.com.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tbsp. water
- 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
- Frosting of choice
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350°
- Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, egg and water.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients (except the frosting). Gradually beat into creamed mixture.
- Divide dough in half. Shape each into a circle and cover.
- Refrigerate the dough until it's easy to handle, usually about 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each circle of dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut it with a floured 4-inch cookie cutter.
- Place each cookie 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.
- Bake until edges are firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
- Frost as desired.
Notes
PRO TIP: To ensure that your cookies have the proper spiciness, make sure their your spices are not old.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: gingerbread cookies
- Method: baking,
- Cuisine: American, Christmas Cookies, Gingerbread Cookies
