Description
This Gingerbread Men Cookie Recipe brings warm spices and holiday cheer. Learn my family’s tried-and-true tips for soft, perfectly spiced cookies.
Ingredients
Scale
- Dough Essentials:
- 2 ¾ cups (350g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (100g) dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (160g) molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- Warm Spices:
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Frosting Fun:
- 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2–3 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional Adornments:
- Mini chocolate chips
- Candied cherries, chopped
- Holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Creaming the Good Stuff:: First things first, get your butter and brown sugar into a mixer. Beat them together until they’re light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. This step is key for that tender texture, so don’t rush it. I always get a little impatient here, but I’ve learned it’s worth the wait. You’ll see it transform from dense to airy, and it just smells so good already. Add the egg and molasses, beating until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl; sometimes molasses likes to hide!
- Mixing the Dry with the Wet:: In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Make sure it’s all well combined. Then, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Honestly, this is where I always want to overmix, but resist! Overmixing makes tough cookies, and we’re going for soft, chewy gingerbread men. The dough will look a bit shaggy, and that’s totally okay.
- Chilling Out:: Gather the dough into two disks, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and pop them in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Overnight is even better! This chilling time lets the flavors meld and makes the dough much easier to roll. I’ve tried to skip this step once, and the dough was a sticky, frustrating mess. Learn from my mistakes, hon! It’s cold, but it smells amazing even now.
- Rolling and Cutting Your Gingerbread Men Cookie Recipe:: Once chilled, take one disk of dough out. On a lightly floured surface, roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick. Don’t go too thin, or they’ll get crispy too fast. Use your favorite gingerbread men cookie cutters to cut out shapes. I always try to get as many as possible from one roll, minimizing scraps. My kitchen usually ends up with a dusting of flour everywhere at this point – it’s part of the charm, right?
- Baking ‘Em Up:: Carefully transfer your cut-out gingerbread men to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Leave a little space between them, as they’ll spread a tiny bit. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them; they’re done when the edges are set and lightly browned. They’ll still be soft in the middle, and that’s what we want for this Gingerbread Men Cookie Recipe!
- Decorating Fun:: Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before you even think about frosting. For the icing, whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Adjust milk for desired consistency – thicker for outlines, thinner for flooding. Now, the fun part! Get creative with faces, buttons, and squiggles. This is where my perfectionism goes out the window, and I just enjoy the process. They’ll look charming, no matter what, honestly.