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How adorable are these gingerbread man cookies?! Gingerbread man cookies remind me that the holidays are around the corner because that’s usually the only time we see them!
It seems like the gingerbread tradition has lived on strongly through the years because every year I see new, creative gingerbread house kit trends at multiple grocery stores and Target. It is a nice reminder of childhood though.
I remember that we would make them in grade school and you were only given a certain amount of candy to decorate your house that you had to share with your group of classmates that sat at the same table.
I personally always dove right into the m&m’s and candy canes, haha
Gingerbread Man Cookies
Gingerbread houses have to of course come with their own little guy and gal! Enter gingerbread man cookies! Technically, it could be a gingerbread woman too.
Take that frosting and draw a bow or dress or long hair on the cookie!
Don’t be intimidated by the long ingredient list or instructions. It’s mainly just combining everything together and being very specific on how to make these gingerbread man cookies.
I can’t be in the kitchen with you so words will have to do!
Are these gingerbread man cookies soft or crunchy?
I wouldn’t say they’re snappy like gingersnap cookies but these do have a bite and they’re a little soft too! If you like the snappiness of gingersnaps and want to carry that over to these cookies, just bake a little longer.
How long can these cookies last in the cookie box or tin?
Generally, these are best eaten ASAP but they will last up to five days in an airtight container.
Other gingery recipes
Soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies
Gingerbread Man Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) butter, (1 stick), at room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) of brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ cup (169 g) of molasses
- 2 ¼ cups (281 g) of flour + flour for dusting a counter and rolling pin
- 1 ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon of ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon of baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon of ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon of salt
For the icing:
- 1 ½ cup (180 g) of powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 2 teaspoons of light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or imitation vanilla flavor
Instructions
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together.
- Add in the egg and molasses and mix again until smooth.
- Whisk the flour, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and salt together in a separate bowl.
- Add it to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
- Lay out a large piece of cling wrap on a counter and lay the dough out in the center of it.
- Press the dough out into a flat disk or rectangle and cover with the remaining cling wrap.
- Refrigerate for 6 hours.
- Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C) and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with non-stick spray.
- Sprinkle a bit of flour onto a counter or a smooth surface and a rolling pin.
- Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and roll it out into a ¼ inch thick rectangle or square.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut out as many shapes as you can get from the dough.
- Remove the excess dough from around the cookies and lay 8-10 cookies on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 9 minutes then remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes.
- Remove them from the pan and let them cool completely on a cookie cooling rack.
- Repeat the process by forming the scraps into another ¼ inch thick layer, cutting out the shapes and baking until all of the dough has been used. (Let the pan cool completely before placing a new batch of cookies to be baked as this will keep them from spreading out.)
- To make the icing, sift the powdered sugar into a medium size bowl and pour in the milk, corn syrup and vanilla extract.
- Pour the icing into a piping bag or a large Ziploc bag and cut a small pin size hole in the bottom.
- Decorate the cookies and let them dry for at least 10 minutes before serving.
