Gingerbread Men Cookies
Gingerbread men cookies are such an epitome of Christmas baking, but I never tackled them for one primary reason – all of the gingerbread cookies I had ever tasted were pretty much the equivalent of a rock. Unless you’re talking about biscotti or pizzelle, I am a diehard soft and chewy cookie person. Crunchy cookies just aren’t my thing. As a result, I’ve been avoiding these adorable little guys for fear of the crunch. Then as luck would have it, I came across a recipe for “Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies”. Clearly, that recipe had my name all over it. So I busted out my yet-to-be-used cookie cutter and went to town. I’m so glad I finally came across a recipe for soft gingerbread cookies because they are cute-as-a-button as well as delicious! (Full disclosure: I totally ate more than a few fingerfuls of the dough!)
Now, I know that variety is the spice of life and that chances are that many of you are a fan of crisp and crunchy cookies and might be looking for a recipe for that type of gingerbread cookies. This recipe can actually be used to make thinner, crispier, more gingersnap-like cookies with just a couple of alterations in technique. Unless noted in the modifications below, do everything else the same.
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
To Make Thin, Crispy Gingerbread Men Cookies:
- Follow the same instructions below (with all of the same ingredients) in Step 1.
- In Step 2, roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thick and proceed with freezing the dough as directed.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes, until they are slightly darkened and firm in the center when pressed with a finger. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then remove to a cooling rack.
- These cookies can keep up to a month stored as directed below.
Which is your preference: soft and chewy or thin and crisp??
One year ago: Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix
Two years ago: Date Nut Spice Bread
Four years ago: Roasted Red Potatoes
Gingerbread Men Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (165 g) dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) baking soda
- ¾ cup (170.25 g) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened slightly, (6 ounces )
- ¾ cup (252.75 ml) molasses
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- In food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade, process flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda until combined, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and process until mixture is sandy and resembles very fine meal, about 15 seconds. With machine running, gradually add molasses and milk; process until dough is evenly moistened and forms soft mass, about 10 seconds. (Alternatively, in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and baking soda at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Stop mixer and add butter pieces; mix at medium-low speed until mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, about 1½ minutes. Reduce speed to low and, with mixer running, gradually add molasses and milk; mix until dough is evenly moistened, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds.)
- Scrape dough onto work surface; divide in half. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll ¼-inch thick between two large sheets of parchment paper. Leaving dough sandwiched between parchment layers, stack on cookie sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight.)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one dough sheet from freezer; place on work surface. Peel off top parchment sheet and lay it back in place. Flip dough over; peel off and discard second parchment layer. Cut dough into gingerbread people or round cookies, transferring shapes to parchment-line cookie sheets with a wide metal spatula, spacing them ¾-inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough until cookie sheets are full. Bake cookies until set in centers and dough barely retains imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 11 minutes, rotating cookie sheet from front to back halfway through baking time. Do not overbake. Cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes, then remove with wide metal spatula to wire rack; cool to room temperature.
- Gather scraps; repeat rolling, cutting and baking in steps 2 and 4. Repeat with remaining dough until all dough is used.
- Once cookies are cool, decorate with royal icing, if desired. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Hi Michelle,
thanks for posting such a lovely looking recipe, I know my chances are slim but do you think the soft gingerbread could be made into a gingerbread house?
Thanks :)
Ammy
Hi Ammy, Unfortunately, I don’t think the soft recipe would be sturdy enough for a gingerbread house. Definitely great for eating though! ;-)
Hi! These cookies look delicious! I was going to make 2 batches, half crispy and half soft and chewy for all my friends who wish me complications while baking every Christmas lol
But I was wondering how far in advanced I could make these cookies? I won’t have a lot of time the next few days to do everything in one day so I read I could store them in an air-tight container but im afraid they wont taste as fresh after the next day, is there any way I could keep the dough in the freezer for a longer period of time? Have you tried that before? Thank you!
Hi Selena, I think you could make these probably up to 5 days or so in advance. I have not frozen the dough, but I don’t see why you couldn’t.
These were the best gingerbread cookies I have ever made! I was a little worried about using a food processor and the way the dough came out but it worked so well and turned out delicious! They were a huge hit in my sons kindergarten class for the gingerbread man hunt!
What is the key ingredient that makes the cookie soft?
Hi Jay, The dark brown sugar and molasses.
could you make these without a food processor or would that not allow the dough to come together?
Yes you can, I made them using just a fork to mix the dry stuff, and a cheap handheld electric beater with a spiral dough attachment thing for adding the butter and other wet things, turned out deliciously and looked just like the picture.
thanks for sharing! i’ve attempted so many recipes and this is by far the easiest and yummiest of them all :)
Can I use light brown instead of dark brown sugar? All I have tonight :-(
Yes, you can!
Could you use this recipe to make a gingerbread house?
Hi Lani, You could use the thin & crisp version for a gingerbread house, as it is labeled as sturdy enough for making ornaments.
I have been looking for a yummy soft recipe and I LOVE yours! Thank you!
Oh my gosh!! you are absolutely a terrific baker/genius!!! This will be a perfect recipe!
These are the best soft gingerbread people cookies that I have ever tasted. I made them with my 3 year old granddaughter and because they were soooo good, we are making them again this week. Thank you for sharing this great recipe.
hi, My problem is the same, I made these and they turned out dark brown, and they were only in the oven for around 10 minutes and when I took them out they were burnt, what am I doing wrong? :|
Hi Pam, Do you have an oven thermometer to ensure your oven temperature? Are you using a dark cookie pan? Are you greasing the pan vs using parchment? Any of these things could cause the cookies to come out dark or burn.
I just made the dough, and it’s definitely not light brown like yours – it’s dark brown. I wasn’t even using dark brown sugar – I was using light brown! I’m in Australia, and tried to make up for the discrepancies between baking up sizes, but I wonder if that made a difference.. it’s also not particularily sticky. it’s shiny and smooth, and when I put it up it doesn’t stick to my hand. I added some more milk, but it’s about the same.
I’m about to freeze the dough for bit less than a week for a bake sale, but I wonder if you have any ideas about where I went wrong.. hopefully it’ll taste okay when I bake it.
Hi Holly, I’m wondering if there were some differences in measurements? The dough was definitely sticky for me before rolling out and refrigerating. Let me know how they turned out.
“Bake cookies until set in centers and dough barely retains imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 11 minutes, rotating cookie sheet from front to back halfway through baking time. Do not overbake. Cook cookies on sheets 2 minutes, then remove with wide metal spatula to wire rack; cool to room temperature.”
The second line you say “cook cookies on sheets 2 minutes”. Do you mean leave them on sheet for 2 minutes? Because you have already specified baking time
Hi Anna, Yes, that is a typo and should say “cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes”. I will make that correction right now!
This is the BEST Gingerbread men cookie recipe ever!!! It is very simple and I have received so many compliments from them, even my finicky mother and daughter loved them! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Made these to send off to my son’s class for their christmas party. My 5 year old loved them, I loved them (I’m not a huge gingerbread fan), and I think my husband ate a dozen in one sitting he liked them so much! Making another batch today to pass out to friends and family :]
Just tried this recipe tonight and they are so good, taste like trader joes ginger cookies but soft :) follow the cooking time or they’ll be crunchy, thanks so much for the recipe
Your cookies are fantastic. I made it :) I love soft gingerbread men. Thanks for the recipe.
I just noticed a discrepancy. The narrative says the cookies can be stored up to one month, but the recipe instructions say one week. Can you please provide clarification on which is correct? Thanks!
Hi Tina, The narration in the post is a variation to make thin and crispy gingerbread cookies. Those cookies can be stored for up to a month, but the thicker, soft and chewy ones can only be stored for 1 week.
Can’t wait to try them I will be making these for a cookie decorating party for kids. I will defiantly come back and let everyone know how these cute little gingerbread men turned out. They should be great because every recipe that i have gotten from here has been wonderful. (:
I made these and they were fantastic! Definitely a new Christmas cookie staple. Thanks for sharing!
I’m struggling with these cookies! I chose the recipe specifically after seeing the words “soft and chewy” but mine did not turn out that way at all. What am I doing wrong?
Specifics: followed measuring exactly. Did not use any type of mixer, hand mixed everything, so this is my only thought as to where I might have gone wrong: I did my best to get my mix to retain a fine cornmeal texture but maybe it just isn’t the same without the mixer? My dough might have been slightly thinner than 1/4″, and I let it sit in the freezer longer than 15-20 minutes, but also made up for it by leaving out on the pan longer before baking. Left my cookies in oven just as directed, even took them out on the earlier end of time- but my oven had been on for about 3 hours between dinner and cookies. Left on cookie sheet precisely 2 min and moved to cooling tray. They were soft out of the oven but got very hard. I love this site so I really don’t want to give up on it! Please help!
Hi Arianna, A couple of things… The final dough really didn’t have a cornmeal mixture, it was very smooth and soft. If the dough was thinner, then that could definitely have contributed to a crisper cookie. Leaving it in the freezer longer than 20 minutes wouldn’t have been a problem, but letting them sit out before putting them in the oven could be. Putting them in while the dough was still could helps to keep them soft and retain their shape. Lastly, if your oven had been on for a long time, is it possible that the temperature was higher? That could definitely contribute to a crisper cookie. I hope this helps!
Have you tried freezing them? Do they freeze well? If so, did you decorate before or after freezing?
Hi Tina, I haven’t tried freezing them but I definitely think you could. I would decorate after thawing them.
Ok, got a question. Is the dough super sticky before the rolling stage? I am worried it might need flour? Help!
Hi Becca, Yes, it is sticky, but because you roll it between pieces of parchment and then freeze it it does not stick. Not adding flour is what keeps the cookies nice and soft. You’ll just have to trust me on this one :)
Gingerbread cookies are a must during this season, all recipes I tried are for a crunchy cookie, but if this recipe is for chewy cookies, I have to try as I prefer chewy cookies.
I’m a soft and chewy girl. So excited for a soft gingerbread cookie recipe – definitely going to try this for our sweater party on Saturday!!
I have to say – I like my ginger BREAD soft and moist, but my ginger bread COOKIES crispy! However, these look amazing!
Soft & chewy allll the way! These look incredible :)
I’m seriously with you – soft and chewy all the way. I don’t like thin crispy cookies. An occasional crunch with the right cookie is okay but in general soft is perfect. These look fantastic! Love the icing decoration :)
Count me among the soft & chewy bunch!