Gingerbread men are an iconic holiday dessert. This Easy Gingerbread Men Recipe combines rich molasses, warm spices, and deep brown sugar for cookie that is unforgettable.
What Are Gingerbread Men?
A gingerbread man is a biscuit or cookie made of gingerbread, usually in the shape of a human, or sometimes cut into other shapes. Gingerbread men have made quite an appearance in popular culture:
- The largest gingerbread man made measures 20 feet tall and 1,308 pounds.
- The Gingerbread man has it's own fairy tale, ('Run, run, as fast as you can; you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man').
- Gingerbread men are in the famous Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker, there's a whole army of the little guys that help defeat the evil Mouse King. Go Team GB!
- Candy Land anyone? The Gingerbread People rule that game.
- Gingy! The crazy, lovable Gingerbread Man from the Shrek Movies.
What Do I Need To Make This Easy Gingerbread Men Recipe?
For this recipe you'll need:
- butter
- brown sugar
- molasses
- egg
- flour
- baking soda
- salt
- cinnamon
- ginger
- cloves
- nutmeg
How Do I Make Gingerbread Men?
- Place softened butter in a large mixing bowl.
- Add brown sugar and mix using a hand or stand mixer until butter and sugar are creamed together.
- Pour in molasses.
- Crack in one egg. Mix until well combined.
- Add flour.
- Top with baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger. Mix until all of the flour is incorporated.
- Form into a ball.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 or more hours.
- Separate dough into two sections.
- Roll out on a floured board with a rolling pin until it is 1.4 inch thick.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut into shapes.
- Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake.
- Cool on wire rack until completely cool.
Royal Icing
For the royal icing you'll need:
- meringue powder
- cream of tartar
- powdered sugar
- water
Pro Tip: Meringue powder is a dried egg white product containing a little sugar. You can usually find it anywhere cake decorating supplies are sold. I bought mine at Walmart.
How Do I Make Royal Icing?
The easiest way to make royal icing is in a stand mixer. You can also use a hand mixer, but you will need to mix for about 10 minutes straight, so a stand mixer is best.
- Pour water into a large mixing bowl.
- Add meringue powder. Mix for 30 seconds.
- To the mixtures, add cream of tartar. Mix fo 30 seconds.
- Add powdered sugar. Mix for 10 minutes on lowest speed.
- Transfer to a piping bag and pipe icing onto cooled cookies.
- Let cookies dry completely, about 2 hours.
Decorating Your Gingerbread Men
Decorating is my favorite part. Letting the icing fall onto the cookie with you leading it aids in getting those smooth, straight lines.Of course, these guys can be fancied up with red hots, sprinkles, and colors. Go ahead, break a leg.
Gingerbread Men Q&A
How long to gingerbread men last?
You can keep gingerbread men in an airtight container, in the fridge for about 3 weeks.
Can you freeze gingerbread men?
Yes, you can freeze your gingerbread men while preserving its taste and texture if you use an air-tight freezer safe container.
What does a gingerbread man symbolize?
The symbolic meaning of an oven is a symbol of birth or transformation of life. You cook your food in ovens for the result of the final masterpiece. In the story the Gingerbread Man, the gingerbread man springs out of the oven alive and transformed from a piece of gingerbread to a live, gingerbread man.
Is gingerbread a bread or a cookie?
Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg or cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger snap.
I LOVE HOLIDAY BAKING! WHAT OTHER COOKIE RECIPES DO YOU HAVE?
For a complete list, visit our cookie page. But, also some of my favorites are:
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Easy Gingerbread Men Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup butter softened
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ cup molasses
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon clove
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Royal Icing
- 2.5 tablespoon
meringue powder
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ lb powdered sugar
- food color if you are tinting the icing
Instructions
Cookies
- Place softened butter in a large mixing bowl.
- Add brown sugar and mix using a hand or stand mixer until butter and sugar are creamed together.
- Pour in molasses.
- Crack in one egg. Mix until well combined.
- Add flour.
- Top with baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger. Mix until all of the flour is incorporated.
- Form into a ball.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 or more hours.
- Separate dough into two sections.
- Roll out on a floured board with a rolling pin until it is 1.4 inch thick.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut into shapes.
- Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes.
- Cool on wire rack until completely cool.
Royal Icing
- Pour water into a large mixing bowl.
- Add meringue powder. Mix for 30 seconds.
- To the mixtures, add cream of tartar. Mix fo 30 seconds.
- Add powdered sugar. Mix for 10 minutes on lowest speed.
- Transfer to a piping bag and pipe icing onto cooled cookies. Let cookies dry completely, about 2 hours.
Jessica Sizemore says
Need to put in amounts of ingredients. Ty
Kadee says
The amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Ebony says
My kids have loved this recipe. We didn’t get to make make Gingerbread Men over the holidays, but I have been making hearts and snowflakes to make winter fun!!
Myrna Rodriguez says
Wait for how many degrees and for what amount of time I’m putting these cookies in the oven???
Kadee says
Hi Myrna,
Sorry about that - it is 350 for 8 minutes. I've updated the recipe card.