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Soft Gingerbread Man Recipe with a nice blend of christmassy spices, the best cookies for the festive season. Kids will absolutely love them, and the grown-ups too. They taste a lot better than the store-bought ones, and are quick and easy to make. A must-try recipe!
Have you got a recipe that always reminds you of a special celebration, or an important day, or just a lovely memory from your childhood? When I think of gingerbread man cookies, I automatically think of Christmas, of warm spices, of cold weather, town buzzing with people getting ready for Christmas.
I don't know what it is, but it feels so peaceful though. Christmas had this effect on people, I suppose. It does make you a bit soft, isn't it? And baking, apart from being therapeutic, it can also bring you in the best christmassy mood. Plus, it's a great fun for kids too.
So, if you wondered how to make a soft gingerbread man recipe that smell and taste like Christmas, this is the best recipe for you.
The cookies have just the right amount of spices, are chewy, soft, and baked to perfection. My gingerbread man cookies do not use molasses, instead they have golden syrup, but you can use any of them, or honey.
Jump to:
- Ingredients needed
- Step-by-step photos and instructions
- What do gingerbread cookies taste like
- How to decorate the gingerbread men
- How to make gingerbread men that are hard and snap well
- Other ginger treats
- Soft Gingerbread Man Recipe
Ingredients needed
- flour - plain flour is all we need
- dark brown muscovado sugar - or just regular dark brown sugar
- butter - unsalted
- golden syrup -or honey
- bicarbonate of soda - not baking powder!
- cinnamon - adds a festive touch to the biscuits
- ground ginger - add to taste, but the more, the merrier here
- egg - at room temperature
- icing for decorating-optional
Step-by-step photos and instructions
l must say this is the easiest dough l've worked with, it does not stick to the working surface or the rolling pin and it is very easy to shape. And it's yummy.
- First, melt the butter in a pan set over a low heat, add the muscovado sugar and golden syrup (or honey) and stir well to get a smooth runny paste.
DO NOT skip this step, otherwise the muscovado sugar will make the dough lumpy and the texture of the cookies won't be smooth. Leave to cool.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, add the bicarbonate of soda and the spices, beat an egg and add it to the flour together with the cooled butter mixture.
- Knead gently into a ball, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Once chilled, roll the dough, and use gingerbread man cookie cutters to cut up shapes.
- Have the oven pre-heated at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit). Bake the cookies for about 7 minutes, or up to 10 minutes if using a very large gingerbread man cookie cutter.
What do gingerbread cookies taste like
The spices used for these cookies give a special fragrance and taste that I can't have enough of. I can feel the heat coming from the ginger, but it is not a very strong one.
If you use muscovado sugar, you will get an even deeper aroma than if you use just light brown sugar. Again, the golden syrup will be richer than honey, so that again will make the taste slightly different.
But one thing is sure, these gingerbread man cookies are nice and soft, yet chewy at the same time. They don't really have that snap people like, which I am happy with, since I don't really like hard cookies.
How to decorate the gingerbread men
If you like the cookies plain, excellent! But, if you fancy decorating them, icing or melted chocolate are your best bet. I
f you use icing, add it to a piping bag and use a small round nozzle for perfect piping. The icing can be either plain white, or you can use any other christmassy colours.
But you know what, gingerbread men can also make some spooky Halloween cookies too. And what a fun they are! Go as creepy as you like, the spookier the better.
How to make gingerbread men that are hard and snap well
These cookies are baked just for long enough to have a soft and chewy texture. If you want crispy gingerbread men that snap well, bake the cookies for a longer - I would add at least 5 more minutes, keeping an eye on them not to burn.
Also, the thinner you roll the dough, the crispier the biscuits - a thicker dough will make softer cookies.
Other ginger treats
Ginger Cake
Gingerbread Cupcakes
Gingerbread Hot Chocolate
Ginger Biscuits
Whether you like the Halloween or the Christmas gingerbread men, one thing is sure, this recipe is fail-proof, and the absolute best! Do give it a go, you will love it! The so will the little ones too. Why not baking with the kids too?
If you’ve tried my GINGERBREAD MEN COOKIES or any other recipe on the blog 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! You can alsoFOLLOW MEonFACEBOOK, andPINTERESTto see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Soft Gingerbread Man Recipe
Soft Gingerbread Man Recipe with a nice blend of christmassy spices, the best cookies for the festive season. Kids will absolutely love them, and the grown-ups too. They taste a lot better than the store-bought gingerbread men, and are quick and easy to make. A must-try recipe! The gingerbread men cookies are chewy and have the right amount of spices, and are a very popular at Christmas. Or, why not at Halloween, a spooky skeleton gingerbread man cookie is always fun to make.
4.21 from 79 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories: 150kcal
Author: Daniela Apostol
Ingredients
- 350 g flour
- 175 g dark brown muscovado sugar
- 100 g butter
- 80 g golden syrup (or honey)
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1 ½ tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 egg
- icing for decorating (optional)
Metric - US Customary
Instructions
Cut the butter in small cubes and put it in a pan over a low heat.
Add the muscovado sugar and the golden syrup and gently stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In a large pan, sift the flour and add the ground ginger, mixed spice, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda.
Crack an egg and beat slightly.
Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the egg and the buttery mixture.
Knead gently for a few minutes until it forms a dough.
Make a ball, cover in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Transfer the dough to the working surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough, it should have approximately ¼ cm in thickness.
Use gingerbread cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
Transfer them onto a baking tray lined with non-stick paper, working in batches.
Bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 8 minutes, checking it regularly - depending on your cookie cutter size, they might take between 7-10 minutes
Allow to cool completely, then decorate with icing if you wish.
Video
Notes
- If you'd like to see the ingredients listed in cups and ounces, please check the US Customary Link.
- Also, the amount of ingredients changes depending on the servings, so click on the number listed to change it to the number you prefer.
- These cookies are baked just for long enough to have a soft and chewy texture. If you want crispy gingerbread men that snap well, bake the cookies for a longer - I would add at least 5 more minutes, keeping an eye on them not to burn.
Nutrition
Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 36mg | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
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