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5 from 6 votes

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Simple and Soft Gingerbread Cookies Recipe is a classic recipe made with molasses and warm spices. One of my most favorite Christmas Cookies!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chilling Time4 hours
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 4 inch Cookies
Calories: 166kcal
Author: Neha

Ingredients

  • Cup Butter (Unsalted, room temp)
  • ¾ Cup Brown Sugar (Packed, light or dark)
  • Cup Molasses Unsulphured
  • 1 large Egg
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 3 and ½ Cups All purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon All Spice Powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
  • Royal Icing (optional)
  • or Simple Sugar Cookie Icing (optional)

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for a minute. Add brown sugar and beat it in till light and fluffy, about a minute more.
  • Add egg and vanilla. Beat it in until combined and creamy. Now add in molasses and mix them in too till well combined. Scrape the bottom of bowl as needed.
    Note: Butter may separate at this stage and that's ok! Dough will come together as you add the dry ingredients in.
  • Sift all the dry ingredients- flour, baking soda, salt and spices(ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg) over wet and fold in to combine. Do not overmix, dough will be thick and sticky. Form two discs out of the dough, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and chill the dough for 4 hours minimum or up to 3 days.
    Do not skip chilling the dough as chilling is necessary to develop flavors in the dough and make it workable.
  • When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350℉ (177 ℃). Line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats/parchment paper. Set them aside.
  • Flour your work surface and disc. Now roll out the cookie dough disc until ¼ of an inch thick. Use your fingers to meld any cracks, cut into shapes.
  • Place cut-out cookie 1 - 1 and ½ inches apart. Re-roll the dough scraps and cut out cookies until no dough remains.
  • Bake for about 9-10 minutes. Cookies will appear slightly puffy at this stage but will shrink back slightly once they are out of oven. If your Gingerbread man cookie cutter is smaller than 4 inches, bake for 7-8 minutes.
  • Once baked, allow the cookies to cool on tray for 4-5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool down further.
  • Decorate cooled cookies with icing as desired. To apply icing on cookies- fill a pastry bag (fitted with #3 round tip) with icing and pipe designs on cookies.
    To make bows and buttons, top with holly and berries sprinkles while the icing is wet. These cookies can be stored at room temperature, covered tightly for up to a week.

Notes

How to store Molasses Cookies:
Store Molasses Cookies at room temp, covered tightly up to a week.
Freezing Instructions:
  • Both decorated or undecorated cookies can be frozen for 2 months. 
  • Thaw baked cookies on counter top for 5-6 hours before serving.
  • If freezing cookie dough, form discs, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze them in freezer safe bags. Thaw discs overnight on counter top or in refrigerator and continue with rolling the dough out as mentioned in step 5.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Cookie | Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Sodium: 149mg | Sugar: 12g