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The holidays require the Best Gingerbread Recipe! The aroma of gingerbread baking in the kitchen brings the joy of Christmas into your home.

Making chewy gingersnaps has been a holiday tradition for years at our house, but this Easy Gingerbread Recipe is more versatile as you can cut it into gingerbread men, women, snowflakes, bears, or whatever your heart desires!

3 gingergread snowflakes on a white platter.
Table of Contents hide
1 Why You Must Make
2 Gingerbread Man Cookies
3 How to Make Gingerbread
4 Frequently Asked Questions
5 More Holiday Cookies
6 Homemade Gingerbread Cookies

Why You Must Make

  • These cookies are holiday classics!
  • Make in any fun shape with your favorite cookie cutters.
  • Gingerbread cookies are perfect for cookie exchanges.

My love of ginger cookies started with my childhood best friend. We’d raid her parents’ upright freezer in the hallway off the kitchen, sneaking a couple of her mom’s chewy gingersnaps. Well, probably more than a couple!

I’ve been making Annette’s ginger cookies for decades and my children love them as much as I do. The husband is a work in progress….a no go on these so far, but that’s just more for the rest of the family. This year I decided to make both Chewy Gingersnaps and Gingerbread Cutout Cookies!

Mini gingerbread men cookies in a small white bowl.
Mini Gingerbread Men

Gingerbread Man Cookies

I started with a tried and true gingerbread cookies recipe, then tweaked it with my preferred spice mixture, and used my minimal decorating skills to jazz them up a bit.

I love the mini spring-loaded gingerbread men cookie cutters. They provide definition to the cookies, plus a smiley face and a spot to easily add some frosting and colorful sprinkles for buttons. My kind of decorating!

Overhead view of 3 gingerbread snow flakes.

How to Make Gingerbread

  1. First, read through the recipe to make sure you have all the ingredients needed.
  2. Get your butter and egg out of the refrigerator to allow them to come to room temperature.
  3. Make the dough following the recipe instructions.
  4. Chill the dough as directed.
  5. Preheat your oven and prepare your pans.
  6. Using a well floured work surface, roll out your dough, about 1/4-inch thick.
  7. Cut into shapes (sometimes it’s nice to dip your cutters into flour to prevent sticking) and place on a baking sheet.
  8. Bake, cool, and decorate.
Different sized gingerbread man cookies on a round white plate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Ingredients Do You Need for Gingerbread Cookies?

Along with the typical cookie ingredients of flour, brown sugar, salt, soda, eggs and butter, you will need a few extras. Mild molasses, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves give these cookies their iconic flavor.

Can You Save the Dough for Later?

Yes! This dough can stay in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It can also be frozen. Make sure it’s well wrapped so it doesn’t dry out.

What is Gingerbread?

This dessert dates back to the Middle Ages and was a hard, spiced bread decorated by the fair ladies to give to the knights before battle. Today, the term can mean a dense, ginger cookie with molasses that can be cut into various shapes. It also refers to a molasses cake flavored with ginger and other spices.

How Do You Store Gingerbread Men?

Gingerbread men can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place (room temperature is fine) for up to a month. If you’d like to freeze them, I recommend freezing unfrosted cookies in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Defrost, then decorate for the most pristine results.

More Holiday Cookies

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Snowflake shaped gingerbread on a white tray
The Recipe:

Homemade Gingerbread Cookies

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 50 minutes
Yield 24 medium cookies

Classic holiday gingerbread cookie recipe that can be cut into gingerbread men and more.

Ingredients

  • 10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ⅔ cup mild molasses, I used Brer Rabbit brand
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 3 ½ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon cloves

Instructions

  1. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat again, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat on high for 2 minutes.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Slowly add the flour mixture into the molasses mixture, on low speed, until well combined.
  3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flattening it into a disk. Chill for a few hours or overnight.
  4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  5. Start with half the dough and roll to about 1/4-inch thick on a well-floured surface. If the dough starts to stick, dust it with more flour.
  6. Cut into shapes, and place on the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the leftover dough, refrigerate if needed, then cut out more cookies.
  7. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Dip your cookie cutters into flour if they start sticking to the dough.
  8. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of your cookies.
  9. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
  10. Decorate using a simple vanilla buttercream frosting or royal icing, if desired.

Notes

Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 131Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 122mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 13gProtein: 2g

Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

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© LIz Berg
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies