The Yummiest Gingerbread Men Recipe

Perfectly spiced with just the right balance of soft centers and lightly crisp edges, these Gingerbread Men Cookies are seriously good.

Make them ahead and turn it into a decorating party – it’s a fun, low-effort activity that everyone gets into.

Tis the season… to eat cookies. I LOVE Christmas and everything that comes with it. Food, family, and fun – that’s pretty much the whole vibe around here.

Baking cookies is a big part of our Christmas tradition. Once Thanksgiving is done, we roll straight into my oldest son’s birthday and our anniversary, and then it’s finally time to decorate and get all the cookie baking going.

If you’re in full holiday baking mode, you’ll want to try my No Bake Haystack Cookies, Cranberry Orange Cookies, or my Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies, too!

Step-by-step photos and instructions are below. Jump to the recipe card if you wish!

Why you’ll love this

• Fun. Make a big batch, let them cool, then just set everything out and let people decorate. It turns into a whole thing real fast.
• Easy. Nothing complicated here. Just good, old-fashioned baking that works. Check the notes if you want a few extra tips.
• Make ahead. Bake them when you have time, decorate when you feel like it. No pressure.
• Classic. Soft, spiced cookies that make your kitchen smell like Christmas and disappear way too fast.

Do you love Gingerbread flavors? Try my EPIC Gingerbread Latte Recipe!

Step-by-step photos and tips and tricks are below. Jump to the full recipe card instead

How to make this recipe

Get prepped. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the cookie dough. In a large bowl using a hand mixer (or stand mixer with the paddle attachment) cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy, making sure to scrape down the edges as you go, about 3 minutes.

In a separate smaller bowl whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together. Then add ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves until well combined.

Slowly add the flour mixture to wet ingredients one cup at a time and mix until fully blended. The dough should be sticky and thick but not too sticky that you can’t handle it.

Chill the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and shape it into a disc. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. The longer you chill it, the better!

Rolling and Cutting. Place the dough disc on a lightly floured surface, split it in half, put one half back in the refrigerator to continue cooling. Roll out with a rolling pin the other half of the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Using your cookie cutter cut out men from the rolled out dough and add them to the prepared baking sheets.

Baking. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes, before removing to wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.

Icing. Add egg white, powdered sugar, and milk to a bowl and beat on low speed until combined. Beat on high speed for 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. You should be able to pull your beater up and the drips melt into the rest of the icing slowly. If it is too runny add more sugar and if it is too thick add more milk.

Fill a piping bag with a small tip attached with icing, I use a #3 tip, or you can use a sandwich bag with a small cut at the end.

Decorate each gingerbread man with icing or decorative candies and allow the icing to harden for about 10 minutes before eating.

More recipes to love

• Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies. Just FOUR ingredients in these yummy Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies (aka Cheater Cookies), you’ll be the hero when you pull these out of the oven in less than 30 minutes!
• Simple Vanilla Caramel Cookies. Easy to make, and filled with aromatic vanilla and sweet caramel, this recipe for Simple Vanilla Caramel Cookies makes a wonderful tasting treat.
• Almond Butter Cookies. Soft and chewy, these almond butter cookies made from homemade almond butter. A treat for those with peanut allergies, and so good, everyone will love them!
• German Chocolate Cookies. German Chocolate Cake in cookie form! Soft, chewy chocolate cookies topped with a creamy, caramel/coconut/pecan frosting and drizzled with melted chocolate.
• Earl Grey Tea Cookies. Crispy and delicately flavored with a fragrant tea, and a hint of orange zest, these Earl Grey Tea Cookies are unique and amazing! 
• ALL COOKIE RECIPES

5 from 2 votes

Gingerbread Men

Author Kylee Ayotte

Servings 24 cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Chilling 3 hours hrs

Total Time: 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Print

Pin

Rate

Perfectly spiced, with just the right amount of crunch and softness, these Gingerbread Men Cookies are SO yummy! Make these ahead, and plan a decorating party! A fun activity for people of all ages to enjoy!

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

For the Gingerbread Men

• ▢ 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
• ▢ 1/2 cup molasses
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon cloves

For Icing:

• ▢ 1 egg white
• ▢ 3 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

For the Gingerbread Men

Get prepped

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Make the cookie dough

• In a large bowl using a hand mixer (or stand mixer with the paddle attachment) cream 3/4 cup unsalted butter and 3/4 cup dark brown sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
• Add 1/2 cup molasses, 1 egg, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and mix until light and fluffy, making sure to scrape down the edges as you go, about 3 minutes.
• In a separate smaller bowl combine 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Then add 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon cloves until well combined.
• Slowly add the flour mixture to wet ingredients one cup at a time and mix until fully blended. The dough should be sticky and thick but not too sticky that you can’t handle it.

Chill out

• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and shape it into a disc. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight, the longer you chill it the better.

Rolling and Cutting

• Place the dough disc on a lightly floured surface, split it in half, put one half back in the refrigerator to continue cooling.
• Roll out with a rolling pin the other half of the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter cut out shapes and add them to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Baking

• Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.

  Allow the cookies to cool completely on cooling rack before frosting them.

For the icing

• Add 1 egg white, 3 cups powdered sugar and 2-3 tablespoons milkto a bowl and beat on low speed until combined. Beat on high speed for 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. You should be able to pull your beater up and the drips melt into the rest of the icing slowly. If it is too runny add more sugar and if it is too thick add more milk.
• Fill a piping bag with a small tip attached with icing, I used a #3 tip, or you can use a sandwich bag with a small cut at the end.
• Decorate your gingerbread men with icing or decorative candies and allow the icing to harden for about 10 minutes before eating.
• Devour.

Notes

How to store Gingerbread Men

Store in a covered container at room temperature for 7-10 days.

Make ahead

Make the dough ahead, up to a week. If you need to make this longer, freeze your dough. Wrap it well, and place in a ziploc bag. Freeze up to 2 months, then thaw in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Substitutions/Additions

You could use store-bought icing if preferred. Royal icing is a good one to use on these!

Adjust the amount of spices to your personal preference. I feel like the spice level is perfect, but you can amp it up or dial it back if you need or want to.

What to decorate Gingerbread Men with?

Frosting, candy, and little decorations you find in the grocery store works!

Make other shapes!

I’m talking candy canes, circles (made to look like Christmas tree baubles), Christmas trees – let your imagination go!

⭐️ Don’t Forget! I love to hear how this turned out for you! Share your thoughts by leaving a review and rating below.

Would you like to save this recipe?

We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

Nutrition

Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 112mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 190IU | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying/pasting and/or screenshots of full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected.

Did you make this recipe?

Make sure to follow @kyleecooks on Instagram for more and tag me #kyleecooks so I can see!

About Kylee Ayotte

I am a born and raised New Zealander (a Kiwi), now living in Phoenix, Arizona. I’m happily married to the love of my life – a hot American boy I met while traveling the world. I’m a mama to 2 awesome little boys and love red things, rugby, cheesecake, and bacon. Mmmmm. Bacon. Meet Kylee