Best Gingerbread Man Cookies Recipe - The Carefree Kitchen (2024)

By Jill Baird · Published October 10, 2023 · Updated January 17, 2024 · 2 Comments

These Gingerbread Men Cookies are soft, perfectly spiced, and great for decorating however you want. They taste just as good as they look, and are fun and easy to make. Also included is the best Gingerbread cookie icing recipe.

Best Gingerbread Man Cookies Recipe

This recipe for Grandma's Gingerbread Men Cookies was passed down to our family, and we are so happy to pass it along to you and yours. They are soft in the middle, a little crispy around the edges and so easy to make and decorate. Gingerbread cookies are a staple of holiday cookie baking, but let’s get real - they don’t always taste amazing. Grandma's recipe is different - these taste just as delicious as they look!

These Gingerbread Men Cookies are flavored with plenty of molasses and the perfect amount of spice. Can’t you almost smell them baking?

If you are big on gingerbread flavor, but not big on decorating Gingerbread Men, you might also want to try our Soft Gingersnap Cookies or these Soft Molasses Cookies. Otherwise, we have provided you with additional recipes for both royal icing and buttercream frosting so you’ll have everything you need to get started. And if you're looking for another great cookie to decorate, be sure to try our Rolled Sugar Cookes for Decorating.

Gingerbread Man Cookie Ingredients

• Butter - use unsalted, room temperature butter for these cookies. If you want to use salted butter, just reduce the amount of additional salt that you add.
• Sugar - this recipe calls for white granulated sugar.
• Eggs - any kind of large eggs will work.
• Molasses - this gives the cookies quite a bit of their flavor, color and even their soft texture.
• Flour - we use all-purpose flour for these cookies.
• Spices: we use a hefty dose of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in these Gingerbread Men cookies.
• Salt - sea salt works great.

How to Make Rolled Gingerbread Cookies

1. Make the cookie dough. Add the room-temperature butter, sugar, and cream using the paddle attachment for about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy in the bowl of a stand mixer. Gradually add the eggs in, add the molasses, and mix until combined. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a separate large bowl. Add the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix just until combined. Check the bottom of the bowl and scrap as needed to make sure that everything has mixed completely.
2. Chill the dough. Divide the dough in half, form it into flat discs and wrap each disc in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
3. Roll and cut cookies. Sprinkle the counter and rolling pin lightly with flour, then roll the dough until it is about. ¼" thick. Cut cookies out into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a Silpat) at least 1" apart.
4. Bake. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are set, and there is a hint of golden brown color.
5. Cool. Let the cookies cool for about 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
6. Decorate. Decorate however you would like, and enjoy!

How To Decorate Gingerbread Men

Here are two different icing recipes for you to use when decorating gingerbread cookies. We recommend making buttercream frosting if you plan to decorate with little ones, and royal icing if you want to get that clean "professional" look.

You could even make and decorate mini gingerbread men if you have a small cookie cutter, or use whatever shapes you like! Keep in mind that the bake time will vary depending on the size of your cookies. Smaller cookies will take slightly less time to bake.

Best Icing for Gingerbread Cookies

If you want Gingerbread Man icing that hardens fairly quickly and actually tastes good, this is your recipe. This royal icing recipe uses meringue powder, so you also don’t need to worry about using raw egg whites.

Gingerbread Cookie Icing Ingredients

• 4 cups Powdered Sugar (sifted)
• 5 Tablespoons Warm Water
• 3 Tablespoons Meringue Powder

How to Make Icing for Gingerbread Men Cookies

1. Make sure all utensils are washed and grease-free.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together meringue powder and warm water with whisk attachment until light and fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar to meringue mixture and whisk again. Once all sugar has been added, whip on high for several minutes until stiff peaks form.
3. Separate frosting into several different bowls and color as desired - Gel food coloring works best.
4. Thin the frosting out with ½ teaspoon water at a time (Note: when you pull a spoonful up, it should quickly dissolve back into itself and become smooth on top)
5. Pour frosting into piping bags or squeeze bottles and decorate cookies as desired.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tips For Making The Best Gingerbread Man Cookies

• Be sure and chill your dough before cutting out and baking. This will help make sure that the cookies don’t spread in the oven. It will also be much easier to work with when it’s cold.
• Use flour when rolling out your cookies. You can even roll them out directly onto floured parchment paper for easy lifting and transferring to the fridge if the dough gets too warm.
• Do not overbake! Keep a close eye on the edges of your cookies and don’t let them go beyond a slight shade of golden brown.
• Roll your dough a little thinner if you want crunchier Gingerbread Men cookies. Your bake time will also decrease slightly.
• You can make your gingerbread frosting ahead of time. Since it's an icing that will work well with other cookies, too, I like to make a big batch at the beginning of the holiday baking season and save myself a little time.

Storing and Freezing Instructions

• Room Temperature: You can store your decorated or undecorated gingerbread cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week at room temperature.
• Refrigerator: You can also store them in the fridge for up to 12 days as long as they are stored properly in a sealed container.
• Freezing Gingerbread Cookie Dough: You can freeze the dough as a flattened disc or roll and cut shapes. Just be sure and wrap in plastic, then store in a freezer bag or another airtight container for up to 2 months. To thaw, transfer to the fridge overnight. If you have frozen cut-out shapes, you can transfer to baking sheets and bake them immediately. Otherwise, let the dough come to room temperature for about 30 minutes, then roll, cut and bake as directed.
• Freezing Baked Gingerbread Cookies: You can also freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months, whether they have been decorated or not. Be sure to separate them with layers of parchment paper inside an airtight container and store them frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw, you can thaw either in the fridge or at room temperature.

More Christmas cookie recipes that we love

• Heath Toffee Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
• Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
• Andes Mint Cookies
• Snickerdoodles
• Eggnog Cookies with Eggnog Buttercream Frosting
• Soft Molasses Cookies
• Mint Chocolate Dipped Oreos
• Cranberry Orange Cookies
• More Best Cookie Recipes
• More Holiday Recipes

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Our Gingerbread Man Cookies recipe tastes just as good as it looks. They are soft, perfectly spiced and great for decorating however you want.

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