Gingerbread Men
This very festive and absolutely gorgeous gingerbread men recipe is so simple to make and tastes delicious, it's Christmas in a biscuit.
Published: December 8, 2022 · Modified: March 11, 2024 by Jennifer Ryan
You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!…. Well, actually you can with this very delicious and festive gingerbread man recipe. Gingerbread men is a recipe we make every Christmas with our kiddies; it has become a bit of a tradition that we all love. I know you’ll love this gingerbread man recipe as much as we do here at Love Food Feed.
Gingerbread men or gingerbread people have been around for generations. These delicious biscuits actually date back to Queen Elizabeth I, when she had little gingerbread men made in the likeness of visiting dignitaries; needless to say, they absolutely loved them and they have been very popular ever since.
How to make gingerbread men
When it comes to making gingerbread men cookies, there are a few tricks to make sure that your traditional gingerbread recipe turns out perfect every time.
- Mixing the Ingredients: The first trick is to mix the wet and dry ingredients in separate mixing bowls before combining all the ingredients. Doing this will ensure a perfectly slightly sticky dough.
- Chill: The next step is to divide the dough and wrap it in plastic food wrap and place it in the fridge to cool for a few hours. Do not skip the chilling stage as it’s very important, the longer you leave it in the refrigerator the better.
- Cutting: When you’re ready to roll your cookie dough, make sure you have a floured surface; this prevents the gingerbread dough from sticking to the surface. Your dough needs to be around 1cm thick. Once rolled, grab your gingerbread men cookie cutters and start cutting out your shapes.
- Cookie sheet: Place your shapes onto a nonstick cookie sheet and make sure your gingerbread men don’t touch each other as they will stick together when they’re baked. If you don’t have a nonstick cookie sheet, you can line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Baking: Bake the plain gingerbread man cookies for 8-9 minutes in your preheated oven at 180°C. Once baked leave them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes to cool slightly before you place them onto a wire rack to cool properly. Lifting the gingerbread men off the cookie sheet too early may cause them to break.
- Decorating: Make sure that the gingerbread men have fully cooled before decorating as they won’t set properly if the biscuits are still warm.
How to decorate gingerbread men
Once your baked gingerbread cookies have cooled you can decorate them however you like. You can check out some of the designs we made this Christmas on our Instagram. To make a simple glaze icing stir powdered icing sugar and a little water together, after mixing your glaze it should be smooth and runny. You can add a couple of drops of food coloring at this point if you want to add a bit of color to your delicious gingerbread man. Add the glaze icing to a piping bag with a tiny nozzle so that you can easily pipe patterns over each biscuit. Once you have decorated your gingerbread men in your desired patterns and faces, leave them to set fully before serving.
How many Calories are in a gingerbread man cookie?
The amount of calories per iced gingerbread man is around 230 calories depending on the size of your cookie (we used a 4-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter).
DIY gingerbread men decorating kits for kids
Decorating gingerbread men is a great activity to do with your little ones. Once you’ve baked your gingerbread men and they have fully cooled, divide the gingerbread men into groups of 4 or 5 and place them into cardboard cake boxes. Next, make up some glaze icing; you may want to make a couple of different colors. I usually go for the traditional white, green, and red. Place a small amount of each color glaze icing into piping bags (use piping bags that have a sealed tip).
To seal the top of each piping bag, fold and seal with a couple of pieces of sellotape until secure. Place the small bags of glazed icing into the cake boxes. Lastly, add in a few small candies or sprinkles to make their gingerbread men extra special. These gingerbread kits are brilliant for kids during the Christmas holidays; they also make the perfect gifts for friends and family.
Gingerbread Men Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 145 g Unsalted butter room temperature
- 150 g Dark brown sugar
- 200 g Black treacle molasses
- 1 Medium Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 440 g Plain flour all purpose
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 tablespoon Ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon Ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon All spice
For the glaze icing and decorations
- 225 g Powdered icing sugar
- 15 ml Water
- 2 drops Red food coloring Optional
- 2 drops Green food coloring Optional
- Small candy's for the buttons Optional
Instructions
- First, grab yourself a large mixing bowl or stand mixer and cream the butter for a minute or two or until it's nice and smooth.145 g Unsalted butter
- Next, add in the brown sugar and black treacle and give it a really good mix until the mixture is well combined.150 g Dark brown sugar, 200 g Black treacle
- Add in 1 egg and the vanilla extract and mix on high speed, you may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times to make sure that everything is well incorporated.1 Medium Egg, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- In a separate mixing bowl add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt and give it a quick mix.440 g Plain flour, ½ teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon Baking soda, 1 tablespoon Ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon All spice, 1 tablespoon Ground ginger
- Now slowly add in the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients and mix well until the mixture is combined into a slightly sticky dough.
- Divide the dough into two equal balls and press each ball into a slightly flattened disk shape about 2cm thick. Then wrap each piece of gingerbread dough into cling film (plastic food wrap) and place into the fridge to cool for a few hours. (do not skip the chilling stage as it's very important)
- After a few hours of chilling, preheat your oven to 180°C and remove your gingerbread dough out of the fridge.
- Lightly dust a clean work surface and the rolling pin with flour.
- Roll your first chilled gingerbread disk out onto your floured surface. It needs to be about 1cm thick. Grab your gingerbread men cookie cutters and start cutting out your shapes and placing them onto a cookie sheet. If you don’t have a nonstick cookie sheet you can line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make sure that your gingerbread men don’t touch each other as they will stick together when they're being baked.
- Re-roll any left-over dough and continue to cut out your gingerbread men shapes.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes in your preheated oven.
- Once baked leave them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes to cool slightly before you place them onto a wire rack to cool properly.
- Repeat the same with the second chilled gingerbread disk.
To decorate your gingerbread men.
- Once your gingerbread men have cooled grab yourself a mixing bowl and add in the icing sugar and water and mix until you have a smooth runny consistency.225 g Powdered icing sugar, 15 ml Water
- If you plan on having different colors as I did, separate the white glaze icing into 3 separate bowls in one bowl add a couple of drops of green food coloring, and mix well. In the second bowl, add a couple of drops of red coloring and mix, in the last bowl leave it white.2 drops Red food coloring, 2 drops Green food coloring
- Place each of the glazed icing colors into separate piping bags and start decorating your gingerbread men any way you like.Small candy's for the buttons
- Leave your decorated Gingerbread men for a while to set, then enjoy your festive cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
Don’t forget that cookies are always best enjoyed with hot chocolate, and these gorgeous gingerbread men taste absolutely delicious with our winter spiced hot chocolate recipe. If you’ve never tried flavored hot chocolate recipes, now’s the time to start.
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