Gingerbread Men

Gingerbread Men

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 22 mins
  • Yield: 36-48 cookies
  • Ingredients

  • 1/2 cupcreamed shortening
  • 1/2 cupgranulated sugar
  • 1/2 cupdark molasses
  • 1mediumegg
  • 2 1/2 cupsall-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoonsalt
  • 1teaspoonbaking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoonbaking soda
  • 1teaspoonginger
  • 1teaspoonground cloves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoonscinnamon, ground
  • 1/2 teaspoonnutmeg, ground
  • Directions

  • Mix together the shortening, sugar, and molasses.
  • Next, add egg andbeat completely.
  • Combine all dry ingredients and add to the creamedingredients–using 1/2 cup increments.
  • Beat well after each addition.
  • Refrigerate the dough until cold.
  • Roll out until the dough is about1/4 inch thick.
  • Use cookie cutters to form the figures.
  • Place in a 350° oven and bake for 10 – 12 minutes.
  • Reviews

  • “This was just the recipe that I was searching for!Easy to make and very tasty.We made these cookies last year with the kids and plan on making them again this year.”

  • “This recipe was GREAT! I made these for my 5yo’s Kindie class to decorate and had rave reviews from parents that got a taste too! Very easy recipe to follow and bake! “

  • “WOW!!!! I don’t usually like Gingerbread cookies but these were yummy!!! I had my niece and nephews over and thought they would like to decorate Gingerbread Men and tried these, and this was the perfect choice. I don’t usually make roll out cookies and had a little trouble with cutting the cookies and transferring them to the cookie sheet. I finally found the trick. Roll out 1/4 of the dough on wax paper, then put back in the refrigerator for 5 min to harden up again, cut the cookies, then lay the wax paper cookies side down on the cookie sheet and peel away the wax paper. I put a hole in the top of the cookies so we could put ribbon through it so we could hang them on the Christmas tree. I used Crawfish Pie’s cookie frosting recipe # 19649 for the icing and it was perfect!!!!! I used large cookie cutters and this only made about 12 cookies, but it was enough. THANKS!!!!!”

  • “very good!!!!i added a little extra spice for an extra kick.”

  • “For those who don’t care for the flavor of molasses:When I was getting ready to bake these, I found I didn’t have enough molasses, so I substituted clear corn syrup for most of it, and brown sugar for the granulated sugar, and they came out as good as with the original recipe, but milder in flavor.I also use the same technique as Virginia Chandler:I lightly flour the dough and then roll it out between sheets of waxed paper, then put it on a cookie sheet to harden it in the freezer before I cut out the cookies.Wonderful results every year!”

  • “Good reliable gingerbread man recipe. A trifle on the dry side during the preparation so I had to add a couple of splotches of milk to sop up the excess dry ingredients. Probably due to the smaller of my chickens supplying the egg LOL.Nice taste too.”

  • “I really hate any cookie that I need to roll out dough, but I needed a gingerbread man recipe for a school activity so I decided to give this one a try.It was a breeze!It is a really tasty recipe, and the cookies come out firm enough to decorate easily, but soft enough to be appetizing.I didn’t even need my rolling pin, I just pressed the dough out evenly and they baked perfectly.Next time I will reduce the cloves and the salt a bit, but otherwise perfect!”

  • “A very tasty ginger cookie recipe, not as bitter as others and a really nice texture. I had a hard time though cutting it into gingerbread men despite chilling it for hours.Not sure what the problem was. That’s my only complaint, otherwise, I would make it again for sure.”

  • “I made these tonight with my 4 year old and 7 year old sons. This was a simple recipe and they were able to help with gathering the ingredients, measuring and mixing. The cookies rolled out well. I used rather small cutters and was able to get 40 cookies – so a few for my 3 sons and hubby and the rest for classmates. I am hopeful my 4 year old’s class will be able to use these – although a bit small – for decorating. The cookies are not super soft, so should work. Tasty. Think we might have a bit too much salt….little boy measuring is not exact.”

  • “Great recipe!I was a little worried that the spices would be too overpowering for my 2yo daughter, but once baked these cookies were delightfully tasty.I had to substitute golden syrup for molasses and butter for shortening, but otherwise followed the recipe.This was great fun to make with my daughter, and great to eat too!Thanks for posting.”

  • “Really liked this recipe.I added extra spices to make them more traditional.I did refrigerated this overnight into three seperate chunks wrapped in saran wrap.I actually rolled these out under a piece of the saran wrap and I think it was essential to getting nice, smooth, well formed cookies.Literally, I had never done that before, but the dough was a little crumbly and I accidently discovered this little trick as a result.Cookies came out perfect!Will post picture after I frost!!”

  • “This is a flavor-packed cookie that isn’t overly crunchy–just what I was looking for!I chilled my dough for a few hours prior to rolling it out with some extra flour.I rolled the dough right onto the cookie sheet and cut my cookies on the sheet (saving myself the painful step of having to move and reshape). Thank you for sharing this great recipe!”

  • “I’m in Australia and can’t get molasses, but dark treacle was perfect!!YUM!thanks for sharing the recipe.”

  • “delicious, not too sweet but not too overwhelmingly gingerbready, and a total dream to roll out. Awesome! Thank you!”

  • “Worked great! I made some with my daughter and her friend and we all had a fun! They were tasty too! Thanks!”

  • “Really nice dough to work with.I have 7 little girls coming over tomorrow to make Christmas goodies and I can’t wait for them to do the decorating.The house smells beautiful and DH and DD both enjoyed them (I’m gluten and dairy intolerant so they are not for me… unfortunately).I divided the dough in half and kept half in the fridge while I rolled one part, and then swapped the scraps over so they re-chilled and were super easy to roll out.Thank you so much for such an easy (and apparently delicious recipe)”

  • “After looking at all the gingerbread man recipes on the site, I have chosen this one to make. I think it’s a classic cookie recipe with no frills or odd ingredients, which is what I’m looking for. I especially liked the spicing, but since I’m not a huge clove fan, I’m cutting the ground cloves to 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. Also, I plan to add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Thanks, Traci and Jeff for a great classic recipe that I’m positive will turn out great! :-)”

  • “Nice, simple recipe and the dough is a pleasure to work with. This is a great recipe if you want to ‘convert’ someone that hates gingerbread. I don’t like gingerbread but that didn’t stop me from eating quite a few! :)”

  • “I followed the recipe exactly.I found the molasses flavor in these cookies to be much too strong, leaving a slightly bitter aftertaste, even after letting them sit for 24 hours, hoping the flavors would mellow out.I have 2 people taste them as well, and both felt although they were okay, the molasses was too strong, and that it cancelled out the delicate flavor of the spices.”

  • “These are delicious!The recipe is simple and the dough comes together perfectly.I made gingerbread babies for a baby shower and put little icing diapers on them(Cookie Icing # 19649).It is a great cookie recipe when you need alot of cookies.”

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