Gingerbread men are typical spiced shortcrust cookies of the Christmas season, easy to make, and ideal as homemade gifts, perhaps paired with jars of flavored sugar! They are also fun to make with children who can enjoy cutting out shapes and decorating them once baked. You can decorate them with classic royal icing or chocolate sprinkles as I did. Once finished and packaged, the gingerbread men will be much appreciated by those who receive them as gifts or find them ready to enjoy at home! Now get to work in the kitchen because Christmas is coming, and in the meantime, try them out!
If you love shortcrust pastries, then also try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 15
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients for Gingerbread Men
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup low-glycemic index flour (type 1)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup clarified butter (at room temperature)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 1 pinch salt
- as needed chocolate heart-shaped decorations
Useful Tools
- Stand Mixer
- Parchment Paper
- Bowls
- Food Scale
- Spoon
- Cookie Cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Plastic Wrap
Preparation of Gingerbread Men
In this recipe, I use a stand mixer (to make it easier), but you can easily mix by hand, just follow the sequence of ingredients in the various steps!
Start by putting all the spices provided in the recipe plus the pinch of salt in a small bowl and mix them with a spoon until combined.
Add the flat beater to the stand mixer, in the bowl add the room temperature butter, eggs, sugar, and honey and mix for 1 minute at speed 2.
Now add the two flours and the prepared spice mix to the bowl, mix the stand mixer at speed 2 for 2 minutes, then at speed 4 for 1 minute, voilà the shortcrust is ready!
Turn out the shortcrust onto the rolling board, shape it into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to rest for 1 hour before using.
After the resting time in the fridge, take out the shortcrust, flour the rolling board, and roll out the shortcrust to 1/4 inch thickness with the rolling pin, cut out the men with the cutter, then knead the scraps and roll them out again, and continue this way until all the dough is used (these quantities yield 15 pieces).
Place each gingerbread man on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, preheat the oven to 392°F.
When the oven is up to temperature, bake the cookies and cook for 12-14 minutes, always check the cooking, once the cookies are baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool without touching (if touched while hot they are still soft and you might break them).
Once cooled, decorate them by putting the chocolate heart-shaped eyes (attach them with a dot of liquid honey). Now they are ready to be enjoyed or packaged for gifts!
GINGERBREAD MEN
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Notes and Tips on Gingerbread Men
For classic decoration, you can use royal icing and create any designs you like.
To give them as gifts, you can package them in transparent cellophane bags closed with white and red twine reminiscent of candy canes.
If you want, you can add 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder to the dough.
FAQ
Can I skip the ground cloves?
Yes, you can skip the ground cloves.
Can I use brown sugar?
Yes, you can use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar.
