Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe - Making Life Delicious (2024)

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Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe - Making Life Delicious (1)

One of Michael's fondest memories of Christmas was making gingerbread men and cutout cookies. For as long as he can remember, his family made them every year, even during the teenage years when it was uncool and he and his brothers would grouse, all the while secretly enjoying it. His mom still makes these every year, and now it's our turn to carry on the tradition with our boys.

Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe - Making Life Delicious (2)

Originally the gingerbread men were decorated with frosting but gradually that changed because the decorations didn't look as nice after the cookies had been stacked and stored. So now his mom makes rustic, minimalist ginger bread men, with just raisins and cherries for eyes and mouth, and we are following that tradition, at least for now. If you plan to decorate, her frosting recipe is included.

Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe - Making Life Delicious (3)

This year instead of using ground cloves, I ground my own right before adding them to the bowl, and the fragrance was outstanding. I used a granite mortar and pestle (found cheap at Ross, only $14.99) and ground the cloves as finely as possible. There was a little left over, which I put into a tin for the next time.

Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe - Making Life Delicious (4)Because these cookies are a long-standing tradition in Michael's family, I'm sending this post to Christmas Cookies from Around the World, a fun event created by Susan of Food Blogga. She has an amazing list of cookies complete with a map showing where all the cookies have come from!

You can find more of our family Christmas cookies here.

📖 Recipe

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Gingerbread Men Cookies

From Ann Meyers.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 8 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Keyword: Christmas, cookies, cut-out cookies, gingerbread

Servings: 36 cookies

Calories: 132kcal

Equipment

  • stand mixer with paddle attachment

  • 2 medium bowls

  • rolling pin

  • ginger bread man cookie cutter

  • small bowl with flour (for dipping the cutter)

  • 2 baking sheets, lined with parchment paper or lightly greased

  • small bowls (optional)

  • decorating tips and plastic bags (optional)

Ingredients

COOKIES

  • cup shortening
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 egg
  • ¾ cup molasses
  • 3 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • raisins (cut in half)
  • candied cherries (cut into slivers)

DECORATING ICING

  • 2 cups confectioners sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • food colors (red & green (optional))

US Customary - Metric

Preparation

  • In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream together the shortening, brown sugar, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until the mixture is light and fluffy.

  • Add the eggs and molasses and mix well.

  • In the medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir into the egg and sugar mixture until everything is mixed well.

  • Divide into four pieces and shape into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

  • Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C.

  • Remove the plastic and placed the disk on a floured work surface. Roll to about ¼-inch (6 mm) thick. Cut with the ginger bread man cutter and place on the prepared baking sheets. Dip the cookies cutter in the flour between cuts. Use all the dough, then take any remaining and make another disk. Roll it out and cut more cookies. Make cookies blobs with any small bits of remaining dough.

  • Press the cut raisins into the faces for eyes and noses, and use the candied cherry slivers for a mouth.

  • Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

  • ICING: In the other medium bowl, stir the confectioners sugar and water. Divide into smaller bowls and add food coloring, then stir. Add more food coloring and stir until you have the desired colors. Spoon into plastic bags with attached decorating tips and pipe on decorations (mittens, hats, buttons, outline the cookies). Allow the icing to harden and set up before wrapping the cookies.

Nutrition

Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 133mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Share in the comments!

More Christmas Cookies

Chocolate Pizzelles

Moravian Christmas Trees (12 Days of Cookies)

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

More Christmas

  • Cranberry Curd
  • Hot Cranberry Tea
  • How to Make Cranberry Liqueur
  • Polenta Toasts with Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onions, and Port Cranberries

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Thanks for visiting! Let me know what you think!

  1. Susan from Food Blogga says

    Thank you for the precious gingerbread men. It warms my heart to hear how family traditions are being passed from generation to generation. Yours boys are so fortunate. May you and your family have a lovely holiday season, Andrea.

    ps--Don't you just love Ross?

    Reply

  2. african vanielje says

    Andrea, Kody and I think these look like chubby little gingerbread cherubs. We love them. Merry Christmas

    Reply

  3. Maryann says

    Cute gingerbread men. I love those florentines in your previous post also. Merry Christmas!

    Reply

  4. Cris says

    These are sooo cute! Love the idea of rustic decoration! It not only saves time, it is beautiful!

    Reply

  5. Deborah Dowd says

    So excited to have found another Virginia foodie! Will be adding you to my blogroll! A very Merry Christmas season and happy new year to you and your family!

    Reply

  6. gwen says

    Do these stay soft and chewy for a few days?

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      Hi Gwen. Yes, these are soft cookies and will stay that way for a few days if you keep them in a tin.

      Reply

  7. Bob says

    How can I alter the recipe to make the gingerbread crisp?

    Reply

Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe - Making Life Delicious (2024)

FAQs

Why are my gingerbread men so hard? ›

“There are some gingerbread recipes that are hard right after baking and need to sit for a few days to soften. Molasses and honey hardens gingerbread, but as the sugar absorbs moisture, it will get softer.”

What is the problem in the gingerbread man story? ›

The conflict in “The gingerbread man” is after the old women finishes making the little gingerbread man he comes to life and runs straight out the window down the street. The animals along the road start to chase the gingerbread man.

What makes gingerbread so strong? ›

A 1:4 ratio of butter to flour makes the gingerbread strong. Corn syrup keeps freshly baked gingerbread pliable and soft, so it's easy to cut while warm. Rolling the dough directly on parchment makes it easy to transfer to the pan.

How long does gingerbread man cookies last? ›

With or without frosting, the gingerbread cookies will last up to three weeks at cool room temperature in an airtight container.

Should gingerbread men be soft or crunchy? ›

Soft gingerbread biscuits are ideal. They ought to be flexible. However, they should still be somewhat elastic, and if you hold them too firmly because you're so excited to eat them, you might even be able to leave your fingerprints on the cookie!

Why are my gingerbread men soft? ›

Transferring and Baking

Something long and thin is best to minimise ruining the shape! Bake for 12 minutes for light golden and mostly soft (though slightly crisp on edges), or 14 minutes for deeper golden and crisp. The gingerbread men will be soft out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.

What is the main point of the gingerbread man? ›

The tale of ''The Gingerbread Man'' is one of hubris. The Gingerbread Man is convinced that he is invincible and cannot be caught by anything. Unfortunately, his pride leads to his undoing. He overestimates his cunning and speed, and he ends up being devoured by a fox.

What lesson does the gingerbread man teach? ›

What's the Moral? The gingerbread man story's moral is slightly dark for a fable meant for children: Be careful who you trust. The cookie believed the fox when he said he wasn't tempted to eat him—this misguided trust led to the protagonist's downfall.

What happens at the end of gingerbread man? ›

The tale ends with a fox catching and eating the gingerbread man who cries as he is devoured, "I'm quarter gone... I'm half gone... I'm three-quarters gone...

Can I use dark corn syrup instead of molasses? ›

Dark corn syrup is a combination of corn syrup and a specific type of molasses, which means it's dark and sweet like regular molasses. You can use it as a one-for-one swap.

Can dogs eat gingerbread? ›

The answer is no. While you may not immediately see negative affects in your pet's health, gingerbread is high in oil and fats that can slow your pet down. Also, Rover reports that gingerbread can cause pancreatitis in dogs, which sounds like a big ol' NO from us.

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

The three distinct types of gingerbread are brown gingerbread, wafer-based gingerbread and honey gingerbread.
  • BROWN GINGERBREAD.
  • WAFER GINGERBREAD.
  • HONEY GINGERBREAD.

How do you know when gingerbread men are done? ›

Gingerbread Cookies are done when they are set and begin to brown slightly at the edges. They will harden further as they cool, so avoid overbaking so you don't end up with hard, crunchy gingerbread! Underbake slightly to achieve soft, slightly chewy gingerbread cookies.

Can you eat old gingerbread cookies? ›

Definitely not safe to eat. Unless your gingerbread was hermetically sealed and then radiated to kill any and all microbes, bacteria and mold, it will definitely be growing something unpleasant for humans to consume. It's dangerous to eat spoiled anything.

Why do my gingerbread men spread? ›

Add the right amount of flour to the cookie dough, when making it. Or add some extra flour to the cookie dough, after the first pan of cookies spread. They spread because they don't have enough flour. Once they have cooled awhile on a rack, or on a towel, put the cookies into a cookie jar, with a slice of bread.

Are gingerbread men supposed to be hard? ›

What they should not be is hard. I won't even make a joke about hard gingerbread men (other than this one), but if your gingerbread cookies are hard, then you are doing things wrong.

Why are my gingerbread biscuits hard? ›

Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they'll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Should gingerbread be hard? ›

Gingerbread biscuits can be hard or soft, so if you want to make decorations, you'll need a recipe that will set hard and be very dry. The drier the biscuit is, the longer the icing will keep its original colour and stay hard. If the biscuits are soft, the icing will start to suck up moisture and colour over time.

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