When using my sugar cookie recipe (find it here) to make your dough, you'll need to prep and chill it ahead of time.
Roll out the sugar cookie dough and cut-out about 30 gnomes using an ice cream cone cookie cutter or by triangles in the dough. Re-roll scraps as needed. Bend the tip of the triangle to form the hat tip. Bake at 400˚F for 5-7 minutes. Cool completely.
Divide the buttercream into three portions. Use black gel paste food coloring (with a tiny bit of yellow) to make gray buttercream from one of the portions. Put the frosting into three pastry bags.
Buttercream Bearded Gnomes
Use a grass piping tip to make beards on the gnome cookies.
Use a round tip to make gray and white stripes on the hats of the gnomes cookies.
Finish with a candy melt nose (see instructions below).
Cotton Candy Bearded Gnomes
Pipe of spread white buttercream over the whole cookie.
Cut and mold pieces of white cotton candy to form triangular shaped beards. Place the beard on the cookie and use a paring knife to make slits in it.
Use a round tip to make gray and white stripes on the hats of the gnomes cookies.
Finish with a candy melt nose (see instructions below) and sprinkles it desired.
Candy Melt Noses
Melt the candy melts and chocolate chip in the microwave on low for one minute. Stir until smooth. Return to the microwave and melt on low in 30-second intervals, stirring after each time, until smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag, snip the tip off, and pipe small dollops onto a piece of parchment paper. Allow the candy melts to harden.
Video
Notes
See blog post and video for tips and answers to FAQs.