There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked gingerbread man cookies wafting through the house to get you in the holiday spirit. This classic gingerbread cookie recipe is easy to make, perfectly spiced, and holds its’ shape beautifully — perfect for frosting and decorating!
Want to save this recipe?
We'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Christmas cookies come in all shapes and sizes, but probably the most famous of all are gingerbread man cookies. The spicy-sweet fragrance of real gingerbread baking in the oven always brings that Christmas magic with it – plus, gingerbread men are so cute! While I love my recipe for the soft gingerbread men (it’s the BEST Little Debbie copycat), the classic ones have a special place in my heart.
Why Do We Love These Gingerbread Man Cookies?
- The dough is sturdy yet pliable, making it easy to cut out shapes.
- These cookies are a thoughtful homemade gift that everyone will love.
- They taste just as good on day five as they do on day one.
- Whether you’re making a small batch or enough for a crowd, this recipe scales beautifully.
- Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg come together to create a warm and cozy flavor profile.
Want more gingerbread treats? Take a look at these easy recipes for gingerbread muffins, gingerbread cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and classic gingerbread.
Key Ingredients
Basically, these cookies are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. Check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full ingredient list.
- Flour: It’s best to measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup. If you dunk the cup into the bag, you’ll pack it. Packed flour is too much flour.
- Spices: A blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves gives the gingerbread its iconic flavor.
- Baking Soda: Make sure to use baking soda, not baking powder, or the gingerbread man cookies won’t have the correct texture.
- Brown Sugar: To give the gingerbread a warm, bold sweetness, use dark brown sugar instead of light brown. Make sure to pack it into your measuring cup for good measure.
- Molasses: Look for regular light molasses, not blackstrap molasses.
- Powdered Sugar: This extra-finely ground sugar makes a smooth, silky icing base.
- Milk: I use whole milk, but any milk will do.
How to Make Gingerbread Man Cookies
The process for making homemade gingerbread men is not that different from making other rolled, cut-out cookies. Please scroll down to the recipe card for full instructions or to watch the recipe video.
- Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately: In one mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, spices, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until they’re light and fluffy. Then add the egg, vanilla, and molasses, and mix until the wet ingredients are completely blended.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients: Now you will want to add the dry ingredients slowly to the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition until fully blended.
- Chill the dough: Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a ball, then flatten them into discs. Wrap the discs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight.
- Cut the cookies: Roll out one of gingerbread dough balls into a circle. Cut out your cookies with gingerbread man cookie cutters, then lay them on a prepared baking sheet about one inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake: Bake until the edges are just set.
- Cool: Let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Make the icing: Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, until smooth.
- Decorate: Once the cookies are completely cool, decorate them with the icing. Pipe faces, buttons, and squiggly lines, or use your own designs!
Chef’s Tips & Variations
- Underbaking vs. Overbaking: It’s important to keep an eye on gingerbread man cookies while they bake – if you overbake these cookies, they will become very dry and extra crisp. It’s better to underbake a little bit than overbake.
- Chill Time: It’s very important to allow the dough to chill completely before rolling it out and baking your gingerbread men. Gingerbread not only contains sugar, it’s also got a lot of sticky molasses in it, which makes the warm dough almost impossible to work with. Chilling it thoroughly will make it much easier to roll and cut.
- Rotate: If your oven has hot spots, I recommend rotating the pan halfway through baking, to try to ensure even cooking.
- Cool Cookies: Like most icings, this one is designed to use on cooled cookies. If you frost your cookies while they are still warm, the icing will run, and your designs won’t stick!
Storing & Freezing
- Storing: Store gingerbread man cookies at room temperature for up to a week, placing them in an airtight container to keep them fresh. You may want to stack them with wax paper or parchment between the layers of cookies. This will help keep the frosting from chipping off.
- Freezing: You can make the cookies and freeze them decorated or undecorated, for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving. You can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough discs for up to 3 months, and thaw the dough overnight in the fridge before baking.
Yield: 32 cookies
Gingerbread Man Cookies
These traditional Gingerbread Man Cookies are flavored with lots of molasses, holiday spices, and brown sugar. This classic gingerbread cookie recipe is easy to make, perfectly spiced, and holds its shape beautifully! Perfect for frosting and decorating!
Ingredients
For the Gingerbread Man Cookies
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ⅔ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 to 4 tablespoons milk, or water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Want to save this recipe?
We’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and baking soda.
- In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg, vanilla and molasses and continue mixing until incorporated.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients, mixing well between additions, until fully incorporated. Divide the dough into 2 large balls. Wrap each in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- On a heavily floured surface, roll out the gingerbread dough to about 1/8” to 1/4” inch thick. Use gingerbread man cookie cutters to cut out the dough. Re-roll any extra dough and cut out more cookies.
- Place gingerbread men 1” apart on prepared baking sheets. For a standard-sized gingerbread man cookie cutter, bake for 10 to 12 minutes, just until the edges are set. (If your cookie cutter is smaller, watch closely, your bake time will likely be closer to 8 minutes.)
- Then remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack. Let cookies cool completely before frosting.
- To make frosting, whisk together powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and vanilla until smooth. Adding more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach a good consistency. The icing should be thick so it holds it's shape, but still just thin enough to pipe.
- Transfer icing to a piping bag with a small tip. Pipe faces, buttons and squiggly lines on gingerbread men, as desired.
Video
Notes
- Store cookies at room temperature for up to a week.
- Freeze baked and decorated (or undecorated) cookies for up to 3 months.
- Freeze the unbaked cookie dough discs for up to 3 months, thawing the dough overnight in the fridge before baking.
- Do not overbake these cookies, as they will become very dry and extra crisp. It’s better to underbake a little than overbake.
- It’s very important to allow the dough to chill completely before rolling it out and baking your gingerbread men.
- If your oven has hot spots, I recommend rotating the pan halfway through baking to try to ensure even cooking.
- If you frost your cookies while still warm, the icing will run.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cookie, Calories: 163kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Sodium: 78mg, Potassium: 132mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 149IU, Vitamin C: 0.01mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg
More of the Best Christmas Cookie Recipes
Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Good gingerbread recipe but the icing recipe sucks. I just made it and the icing was waaay too thick and not spreadable at all. I’m using a different icing recipe but the gingerbread cookies were good.
Hi Julie! You can always add a little extra milk to thin it out to a thinner consistency!