Classic Gingerbread Man Cookies
Enjoy a little bit of Christmas in your mouth with my mother-in-law's classic gingerbread man cookies recipe. You can store these classic gingerbread man cookies in a covered container on your countertop for up to two weeks!
Servings 24
Calories
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Royal icing - homemade or store-bought
- Assorted candies for decorating optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine butter and brown sugar then add molasses, egg, and vanilla
- In a separate large bowl combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add remaining dry ingredients
- Add wet ingredients (butter and brown sugar mixture) to the dry ingredients and beat with a mixer until the dough is light and fluffy
- Separate dough into two equal portions. Press each portion of dough into a disc-shape onto a piece of plastic wrap. Top with an additional piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate for three hours.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough to a ¼" thickness. I'd work with one disc at a time leaving the other in the fridge so your dough stays chilled and easy to work with.
- Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut dough into the desired shape and place on a prepared cookie sheet (a non-stick, silicone cookie sheet such as Silpat works best or you can place parchment paper on a regular cookie sheet)
- Bake at 350° for 10-14 minutes.
- Cool completely on wire racks
- Decorate with icing and candies if desired. Store in a covered container for up to two weeks.
Video
Notes
Yield will depend on the size of your gingerbread man cookie cutter so use a large cutter if you want to do less cutting and rolling and use a smaller cutter if you need to make lots of cookies for a Christmas cookie exchange or to serve a large group.