Gingerbread Men are a classic holiday cookie filled with warm spices like nutmeg, molasses, and cloves. Royal Icing recipe and decorating tips included!
Nothing quite says holidays like the flavor of gingerbread. From Gingerbread Cookies to Gingerbread Cake, our Dessert Recipe catalog has a big assortment of classic holiday treats to try.
When it comes to Christmas cookies, is there anything more iconic than gingerbread? The spicy ginger, warm nutmeg and cinnamon, and rich, sweet molasses have been a main part of holiday baking since the 15th century.
Whether you are making it into a house, cute little men and women (and animal) figures, or just round cookies, this gingerbread recipe is perfect for your baking traditions, old and new.
In the past, we’ve shared Award-Winning Gingerbread Cookies but these cookies are slightly different. Unlike the soft chewy bite to the regular gingerbread recipe, this cookie recipe will be crispier on the edges when set.
Start a cheery tradition and bake a batch of these Gingerbread Men cookies a day or two in advance and hosting a playdate for kids to decorate them with icing, sprinkles, gum drips, peppermints, etc.
To make gingerbread houses, cut the dough into rectangles before baking. These houses become an instant decoration and are a great way to use up any leftover Halloween candy. Plus they probably won’t get eaten, which means the kids eat less sugar!
TIP FOR MAKING GINGERBREAD COOKIES
The dough in this recipe is going to be pretty sticky, from the brown sugar and molasses, so it’s very important to let your dough chill for at least 3 hours before you try rolling it out.
When you are rolling out the dough, keep flour on hand to sprinkle as needed. The less sticky your dough is, the better for shaping and baking.
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HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD MEN
- Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in molasses, egg and water.
- In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.
- Gradually beat into creamed mixture.
- Divide dough in half.
- Shape each into a disk; cover.
- Refrigerate until easy to handle, about 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness.
- Cut with a floured 4-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter.
- Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
- Bake until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes.
- Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
- Frost as desired.
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MAKE GINGERBREAD MEN AHEAD OF TIME
If you want to get a head start on your holiday baking, you can make the dough up 3 days in advance if you store in the fridge. If you want to make the dough and freeze, it will last for up to 3 months. Wrap your dough in plastic wrap before storing in an air-tight container.
HOW TO MAKE ROYAL ICING
- 2 pounds Confectioners’ Sugar, Sifted
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 2 whole large egg whites
Beat the powdered sugar, milk, and egg whites until thick but able to be piped. If too thick, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time. Add to piping bag.
TIPS FOR DECORATING GINGERBREAD MEN COOKIES
- Allow the cookies to completely cool before attempting to decorate. Put on a baking sheet and place in freezer for 30-60 minutes if needed.
- Use a fine tip for precise lines. You can always go back and add to the line if it’s too thin.
- Keep intricate designs and different icing colors from blending together by chilling in freezer for 15-20 minutes at a time between decorative piping.
- Score the dough, before baking, as a guide for icing when cool. You can get special food stamps that will give you perfectly uniform face and button imprints on your cookies.
- If you aren’t confident with your piping skills quite yet, skip icing your Gingerbread Men. Instead, score or stamp your cookies before baking.
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HOW TO STORE GINGERBREAD MEN
- Serve: Give your gingerbread men about 2-3 hours for the icing to set if you are transporting or storing.
- Store: Keep gingerbread cookies sealed in an air-tight container for up to a week.
- Freeze: You can freeze these cookies or the raw cookie dough for up to 3 months in an air-tight container.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar , packed
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Instructions
- In your stand mixer, add the butter and brown sugar and on medium speed, cream until light and fluffy.
- Add in molasses, egg and water until it makes a smooth mixture.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice
- On the lowest speed setting add the flour mixture to the stand mixer until just combined.
- Divide dough in half and wrap each half tightly with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Flour a smooth surface and your rolling pin and roll each portion of dough to about ⅛ - 1/4" thick.
- Press cookies out with gingerbread men cookie cutters or any other shape you'd like to use.
- Place the cookies 1" apart on the baking sheet (these cookies should not spread very much).
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, your don't want the edges to brown.
- Cool for 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet to cool completely before frosting.
Nutrition
Calories: 90kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 134mg | Potassium: 86mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 128IU | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg
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These gingerbread men hold their shape perfectly in the oven without spreading, which makes decorating them so much fun. My kids have been wanting to create their own since they saw Shrek, and this recipe was sure the perfect find, specially considering the time of the year!
I’m so happy to hear you can enjoy this with your kids, Ava! Thank you for the 5 stars!