Gingerbread Men

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Royal icing isn’t the easiest thing to work with and I always over-flood my cookies so I kept is fun and simple for these cookies and used some of the sprinkles and sugar balls I had on hand for the decorations. I think holiday baking should really mean time together with friends and family, sharing and enjoyment. Not stress and frustration! Also, I do love how crunchy the icing gets after a day or so but these cookies won’t last very long so good luck with that! Make sure to lighten or sift the flour before measuring it out. If you pack it into the measuring cup you could almost double the amount of flour required by the recipe! 😱

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, sift the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed and mix until it’s fluffy.
3. Add in the molasses, egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Gradually add in the flour until a nice dough is formed. Roll into disks, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight.
5. For the icing; sift the powdered sugar into a bowl, add the egg white and mix until combined. Add the cream of tartar once they become frothy. Add water until a desired consistency is reached then transfer it to a piping bag.
6. Roll out the dough out until its about 1/4 inch in thickness.
7. Cut out the gingerbread people with a cookie cutter and transfer them to a baking sheet. For the gingerbread people holding the candy cane nugget, roll up a ball of aluminum foil and bend the arms around the ball before baking. Bake cookies for 10 minutes and let cool.
8. Once your gingerbread people are cool, pipe a shirt, pants and facial details.
9. Attach sprinkles for buttons and eyes. You can also add candy cane nuggets to gingerbread people with bent arms.

If you’ve tried these men then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!

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Gingerbread Men

Spicy and delicious gingerbread cookies that don't spread all over the place!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 14

Calories 290 kcal

Author John Kanell

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cookies:

• 3 cups flour 360g
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger 4g
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2g
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 6g
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 1g
• ¼ teaspoon salt 1g
• ¾ cup butter 170g, room temp
• ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar 150g
• ½ cup molasses 118mL
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5mL

For the Icing:

• 2 egg whites
• 1 lb confectioners sugar 454g
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 1g
• 2-4 tsp water 10g-20g

Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Cookies:

1. Preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
   

3. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium. Mix until fluffy.

   

4. Add in the molasses, egg and vanilla. Mix until combined.

5. Add in flour gradually until a nice dough forms.

6. Roll into disks. Cover with plastic wrap. 

7. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight. This step is important because the dough gets soft quickly.

8. Roll out dough about ¼-inch in thickness.

9. Cut out gingerbread people with a cookie cutter. Transfer to a baking sheet. 

   

10. For the gingerbread people holding the candy cane nugget, roll up a ball of aluminum foil and bend the arms around the ball before baking. 

11. Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Let cool.

For the Decoration:

1. Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl.
2. Beat the egg whites and add the cream of tartar once they become frothy.
3. Once combined, add the water until desired consistency is reached.
4. Transfer to a piping bag.

5. Pipe a shirt, pants and facial details. 

6. Attach sprinkles for buttons. 

7. Add candy cane nuggets to gingerbread people with bent arms. 

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Cut back on the molasses for a lighter cookie.

Alter spices at will, you might want less ginger and more cinnamon!

Remember that this recipe really needs dough that chills overnight or for at least a few hours.

 

Adapted from https://allrecipes.com/recipe/230238/gingerbread-men-cookies/

Nutrition Facts

Gingerbread Men

Amount Per Serving (65 g)

Calories 290 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 10g 15%

Saturated Fat 4g 20%

Cholesterol 10mg 3%

Sodium 180mg 8%

Total Carbohydrates 45g 15%

Sugars 20g

Protein 4g 8%

Calcium 4%

Iron 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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