Description
This classic Gingerbread Man Cookies recipe yields soft, chewy, and flavorful cookies that are perfect for holiday baking and decorating fun. Featuring warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves blended into a rich molasses dough, these cookies bake to a perfect tender texture and are ideal for festive occasions.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons butter, room temperature, cut into 12 pieces
- 3/4 cup dark molasses
- 2 tablespoons milk
For Frosting
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Add the all-purpose flour, dark brown sugar, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and salt to a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly to combine all the spices and dry elements.
- Cut in Butter: Add the 12 pieces of room temperature butter to the dry mixture, then use a pastry blender to incorporate the butter until the mixture resembles a fine meal, with small pea-sized pieces of butter distributed throughout.
- Add Molasses and Milk: With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the dark molasses and 2 tablespoons of milk. Mix until everything is combined, about 30 seconds. The dough will begin to come together.
- Chill the Dough: Divide the dough in half and form each half into a ball. Wrap each ball tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. If short on time, place wrapped dough in the freezer for about 20 minutes until firm. Refrigeration is mandatory to handle the dough properly.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
- Roll Out Dough and Cut Shapes: Remove one dough ball from the fridge or freezer and place it on a well-floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough and the rolling pin as well. Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut shapes and place them on the prepared baking sheets.
- Chill Cut Cookies: Refrigerate the cut-out gingerbread men cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. In the meantime, roll out the second dough ball following the same process.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until the centers are set and the dough barely retains an imprint when gently pressed with a fingertip. Avoid overbaking to maintain softness.
- Cool the Cookies: Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack. Allow them to cool completely to room temperature before decorating or frosting.
- Store Properly: Store the gingerbread cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper layered between stacks to prevent sticking. They can be frozen for up to 3 months to maintain freshness.
Notes
- This recipe produces soft, chewy gingerbread cookies with a rich spice flavor perfect for decorating.
- If you don't have a pastry blender, you can use two knives or your fingertips to cut the butter into the flour mixture.
- Chilling the dough is essential to manage stickiness and helps achieve a tender texture in the cookies.
- Use parchment paper on baking sheets to prevent cookies from sticking and to promote even baking.
- Let cookies cool completely on a wire rack before frosting to prevent melting.
- Freeze leftover cookies layered with parchment paper in an airtight container to maintain freshness for up to 3 months.
- Adjust baking time based on cookie size; larger cutters might need closer to 11 minutes, smaller ones about 8 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 214 kcal
- Sugar: 24 g
- Sodium: 143 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 37 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 18 mg
