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December 31, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies

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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.

Soft and chewy gingerbread men cookies

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.

The best gingerbread cookies with royal icing recipe

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

The best recipe for gingerbread men cookies and royal icing decorations

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.

Soft chewy gingerbread men cookies recipe with royal icing

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Best ever gingerbread cookies with royal icing

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

Half Sheet Pan (Set of 2)

Parchment Paper Rectangles for Sheet Pan (200)

3-inch Gingerbread Man Cookie Cutter

Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons

Mixing Bowls (Set of 3)

Wooden Spoons (Set of 6)

Note: The above items are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Want even more? Subscribe to Mom Loves Baking to get new recipes and a newsletter delivered to your inbox. And stay in touch on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram for all my latest updates. If you make this recipe, share a photo on social media tagging @momlovesbaking and using the hashtag #momlovesbaking.

Soft and chewy gingerbread men cookies recipe
Print Recipe

Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies

This is my favorite recipe for Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies, frosted with an easy royal icing.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Chill time40 mins
Servings: 25 cookies
Author: Lise Ode

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 (or 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.

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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Hi, I’m Lise! Welcome to Mom Loves Baking where I’ve been sharing recipes I love since 2013. I hope you love them too!
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