Description
This Soft Gingerbread Man Recipe yields tender, flavorful cookies perfect for festive occasions. Featuring warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, these gingerbread men are easy to make and ideal for decorating with icing. With a chilling step for perfect dough texture and a quick bake, they balance chewiness and crisp edges beautifully.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup molasses
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
For Decorating
- Icing (amount as needed for decorating)
Instructions
- Gather Ingredients: Collect all ingredients required for the gingerbread cookie dough to ensure a smooth cooking process.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Beat the light brown sugar and softened unsalted butter together on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, creating a creamy base for the dough.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Incorporate the large egg, apple cider vinegar, molasses, and pure vanilla extract into the butter and sugar mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until thoroughly combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground allspice, and ground nutmeg to ensure even distribution of spices.
- Make the Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet mixture and blend on low speed until a dough forms. Avoid overmixing to maintain a tender texture.
- Divide and Chill Dough: Split the dough into two equal parts, wrap each in plastic wrap, flatten into discs, and refrigerate for 3 hours to firm up the dough for easier rolling.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Set the oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly dust your work surface with flour. Line baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Roll and Cut Dough: Roll out each chilled dough disc to about 1/4 inch thickness on the floured surface. Use gingerbread man cookie cutters to cut shapes. Collect scraps, re-roll, and repeat to maximize dough usage.
- Arrange Cookies: Place the cut cookies about one inch apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets to allow even baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake for 6 to 14 minutes depending on cookie size, typically 8 to 10 minutes for medium-sized gingerbread men, until edges are firm.
- Check Doneness: Gently press the center of a cookie; if it springs back, the cookies are baked through.
- Cool Cookies: Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate: Once cooled, decorate the gingerbread men with icing and enjoy the creative process.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is essential to prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
- If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, white vinegar can be substituted but may alter the flavor slightly.
- Molasses gives the characteristic taste and deep color; dark or blackstrap molasses will deepen flavor, while light molasses provides a milder taste.
- Store baked gingerbread cookies in an airtight container for up to one week to maintain freshness.
- For a gluten-free variant, substitute all-purpose flour with a gluten-free all-purpose blend, adjusting liquid as needed.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes per batch
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
