This is my favorite recipe for Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies, frosted with an easy royal icing. Made with a perfect blend of spices and molasses for that classic gingerbread flavor. I highly recommend printing out the recipe, so you can make these delicious cookies every year for the holidays.
The holidays just wouldn’t be the holidays without gingerbread men cookies in my book. Do you agree? It might be December 31st, but there’s still time to make these cute little fellas. And just because it’s been a crazy year, you could even decorate them with masks for a little bit of 2020 humor.
Ingredients you need for Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies
Flour – All purpose flour works best.
Spices – You will need a combination of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg
Baking Soda
Salt – I used table salt, but you could also use sea salt or Kosher salt.
Butter – Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.
Brown Sugar – Light brown sugar is what I used.
Molasses – Do not skip this ingredient, it’s what makes the cookies soft and chewy.
Egg – One large egg at room temperature.
Powdered Sugar – Also called confectioner’s sugar.
Meringue Powder – Egg white powder
Tips for No Fail Gingerbread Men Cookies
Roll cookies between two sheets of parchment paper for best results.
Remove top piece of parchment paper.
Cut out cookies directly on parchment, remove excess dough, then transfer entire sheet to baking pan.
Use a half sheet pan instead of a regular cookie sheet as it has a raised edge to keep the parchment paper from sliding off.
Do not over bake cookies or they will get too crispy.
Let cookies cool completely before decorating.
Pour the royal icing into a pastry bag fitted with a #3 round tip to pipe the details on the gingerbread men. Add sprinkles, if desired.
More Old Fashioned Cookies You’ll Love
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookies
These Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies are so fun to make. It’s a tradition at my house to make them every year at Christmas. You can use your imagination to decorate these little guys any way you like. You could give them ugly sweaters or Santa suits or make them gingerbread women, if you wish.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
Lise
xo
TOOLS FOR SUCCESS
Parchment Paper Rectangles for Sheet Pan (200)
3-inch Gingerbread Man Cookie Cutter
Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons
Note: The above items are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 1/2 sticks
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2/3 cup molasses
- 1 large egg room temperature
For the royal icing
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons warm water
- 2 tablespoons meringue powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
For the decorations
- Sprinkles of your choice
Instructions
For the cookies
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and molasses with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and beat until combined. With the mixer on low, gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until dough just comes together. Do not overmix! Divide dough in half. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until firm, about 40 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Take dough out of the fridge and let rest about 10 minutes. Roll each half between two pieces of parchment paper until 1/4" thick. Remove top sheets from both. Cut out gingerbread men with a 3-inch wide cutter. Remove excess dough, then transfer parchment paper with cut dough onto a half sheet pan (do not lift dough off of parchment paper as it will lose its shape).
- Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rackt to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Decorate cooled cookies with royal icing (recipe follows) and sprinkles as desired.
For the royal icing
- Combine all royal icing ingredients. Beat at low speed until moistened. Beat at medium speed 1-3 minutes or until slightly thickened and glossy. Keep covered until ready to use.
Nutrition
All text and images © Lise Ode for Mom Loves Baking. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate. This post may contain affiliate links.
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