My dear cookie friends,
I was asked about the heavy horse cookie that I posted here a few days ago: http://cookieconnection.juliau...com/clip/heavy-horse.
So here it is again . . . in more detail for you.
Last spring, after reading about the history of gingerbread making in Europe, I decided to recreate one of the oldest designs, a horse-shaped gingerbread, which was first sold at the town markets. In the old times, people used wooden forms into which they pressed the dough - no icing was used, not to mention fondant. Even though I thought about making the form myself (for a second or two), I decided to do it another way - a modern way, which was a bit easier for me, and hopefully will be for you, too. Here are the details . . .
I used a sharp knife to cut the horse shape out of the rolled dough. There's a little trick to cutting if the dough is soft (as it is when made with honey): cut it directly on the baking paper; then remove all the rest. Bake it, making sure it has flour underneath, so it doesn't stick. Or - as traditionally done - lightly grease the paper with beeswax. I could try to sketch an outline of the horse for you, but honestly, you can simply Google ANY animal shape, print it out, and use it as a guideline. Use your own creativity; the possibilities are endless.
Next, I covered the cooled dough with brown coloured fondant, thinly rolled (about 2 mm). I used lemon juice as a glue, because that dissolves the fondant a bit and "cements" it onto the cookie a bit better. I pressed in a few "muscles" with my thumb, and I added a few details with a knife.
Next, once the body was completely covered, I chose the particular breed of horse that I wanted to do - a Shire Horse - and painted it in its typical colours . . . grey hooves, white legs, and the rest in black. (I use Sugarflair Black Extra.) Then I let it dry for two days, as the fresh paint looks glossy like this . . .
Adding details was the most fun part of all. I had a few pictures of horses on my netbook. I tried to keep the theme together, so it made sense. Here's my final inspiration - Slovak (my country of origin) heavy horse shows, and their red and black equipment. I find them absolutely stunning.
And the finished work . . .
Most of these photos haven't been published anywhere else. I hope you find them inspiring, and I am looking forward to seeing more "sculpted" gingerbread animals (and cookies!) on this wonderful site! Happy cookie-ing! 
You can find more of my work on my Facebook page.
Feel free to ask any questions! 
[EDITOR'S NOTE: I want to personally thank Karolina for so generously sharing her talents with the Cookie Connection community! This is the perfect tutorial to help commemorate Gingerbread Month on Cookie Connection!]
Note: This article expresses the views of the author, and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. To read more Cookie Connection tutorials, click here.
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