The gingerbread men are delicious cookies made with a spiced dough of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and ground cloves. These cookies are beautiful to look at and delicious for their unique taste, and children also love them for their fun shape.
The gingerbread dough can be sweetened with molasses, maple syrup, or honey, but the choice of sweetener will affect the color of the cookies. I usually prefer to use honey, both for the taste and the color they take on. Once the gingerbread men are ready and have cooled, we can decorate them with royal icing. I am sure your kids will be happy to do it together, giving each man a sweet and fun smile!
Here are some other holiday ideas for you.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: approximately 35 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: European
- Energy 149.57 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 26.77 (g) of which sugars 14.55 (g)
- Proteins 2.07 (g)
- Fat 4.66 (g) of which saturated 2.92 (g)of which unsaturated 1.60 (g)
- Fibers 1.92 (g)
- Sodium 126.30 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 30 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Gingerbread Men
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup wildflower honey
- 2/3 cup butter
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (in powder form)
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 drops lemon juice
- 1 egg white
- as needed food coloring
Tools
- Stand Mixer
- Cookie Cutter
- Baking Sheet
- Cooling Rack
- 1 Parchment Paper
- 1 Plastic Wrap
Preparation of Gingerbread Men
In the stand mixer or the food processor, pour the sifted flour and baking soda; add the cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, and nutmeg.
I use this stand mixer and find it really good, if you’re interested you can find it here.
Also add the cold butter cut into pieces, start the stand mixer and let it knead for just a few spins, just enough to create a sandy effect. Then add the honey and the egg, start the mixer again at medium speed.
Make sure not to heat the dough too much, it will be ready as soon as it becomes nice and homogeneous. If it is too soft, add a little more flour. Remove it from the mixer and form a nice compact dough ball.
Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours. After the time has passed, take it out of the fridge and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. To make rolling easier, always work your dough on a lightly floured surface. If you want, you can also work the dough on a sheet of parchment paper.
Use the cookie cutter to cut out the cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, bake in the preheated oven at 340/356°F for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack.
(The oven temperature is always indicative, adjust according to your oven)
Now prepare the royal icing for the decorations:
Beat the egg white with the powdered sugar and lemon juice using an electric whisk. Whip until you obtain a nice homogeneous and lump-free glaze. For colored icing, just add some food coloring, but always together with all the ingredients.
Transfer the royal icing into a piping bag with a small-hole nozzle, now decorate your cookies as you like.
If you like cooking with me, I’ll see you at the next recipe 🙂 Don’t miss it!
You can also find me on your favorite social media facebook twitter instagram pinterest TikTok
You will always be updated on my recipes
Gingerbread Men Tip
The gingerbread can be stored in a closed tin box for several days and remain crisp.
