Gingerbread men are cut-out Christmas cookies made with molasses, ginger and a melted butter dough that holds its shape. That makes them the Christmas cookie for decorating with kids, a cookie exchange or a gift tin, since the dough rolls without fighting you. Two to three dozen a batch.
Chill the dough twice, not once. Two hours in the fridge is the step everyone knows. The 15 minutes after you cut the shapes is what keeps the arms and legs from spreading into blobs.
The card says 3 hours total, and that only covers the mixing and the first chill. Add the second chill, three batches in the oven and cooling before icing, and you are closer to four and a half.
Gingerbread Men
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalA rolled molasses cookie spiced with ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves, chilled twice so the shapes stay sharp. Baked flat and piped with meringue powder royal icing.
Ingredients
- For the Cookies:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening, melted
2/3 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
- For the Royal Icing:
1 pound confectioners’ sugar (3 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons meringue powder
Food coloring, if desired
Directions
- Mix the dough: Whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and cloves in a large bowl. In a stand mixer with the paddle, mix the melted butter, shortening, brown sugar and molasses, then beat in the egg. Add the dry mix in four additions, letting each one disappear before the next.
- Chill it: Divide the dough in half, wrap each piece in plastic and flatten it to 1/2 inch thick. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Flat disks chill through much faster than a ball.
- Roll and cut: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roll one piece on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thick, then cut 3 to 5 inch shapes with a gingerbread man cutter. Brush the excess flour off, slide the sheet into the fridge for 15 minutes, and repeat with the second piece.
- Bake: Bake in batches until the edges turn golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Move them to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Icing on a warm cookie will slide straight off.
- Ice and decorate: Whisk the confectioners sugar with the meringue powder, then beat in 6 tablespoons of water until you have stiff glossy peaks. Add water a tablespoon at a time until it pipes smoothly, tint it if you like, and fill piping bags to decorate.
Notes
- Calories are calculated from the ingredients at 30 cookies, with all of the icing counted. Plan on four to five hours door to door, not the three on the original card.
FAQs
Why is the butter melted instead of creamed?
Creaming beats air into butter, and air makes a cookie rise and spread, which ruins a sharp outline. Melted butter skips all of that, so the dough stays dense and the cutter edge survives the oven. The page never explains this, but it is the reason the method works.
Can I skip the tablespoon of shortening?
You can, and buying a whole can for one tablespoon is a fair thing to resent. Shortening melts at a higher temperature than butter, so it holds the shape a little longer. Swap in an extra tablespoon of butter and expect slightly softer edges.
How thick should I roll the dough?
A quarter inch is what the recipe asks for and it gives a cookie that bends rather than snaps. Roll to an eighth if you want a crisp gingersnap texture and watch them closely, since they bake faster. Thicker than a quarter inch and the centers stay doughy.
Is a whole pound of confectioners sugar too much icing?
It is about right if you are flooding every cookie in a solid layer of color. For simple outlines and buttons, half the batch is plenty and the rest goes to waste. Bake a week ahead and spend the party day on a bowl of Christmas sherbet punch instead.
What do you serve with gingerbread men?
Something warm and spiced, because milk makes a very sweet cookie taste sweeter. A mug of wassail picks up the ginger and cloves in the dough. Strong black coffee does the same job for anyone who has had enough sugar.
