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Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies Recipe

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4.7 from 31 reviews

These Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies are a delightful holiday treat featuring warm spices and molasses for rich flavor and perfect chewiness. Topped with homemade royal icing and festive sprinkles, they're perfect for sharing and decorating with family and friends.

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling out the dough
  • 1 ½ tablespoons ground ginger
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 ½ sticks)
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 1 large egg, room temperature

For the royal icing

  • 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoons warm water
  • 2 tablespoons meringue powder
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

For the decorations

  • Sprinkles of your choice

Instructions

  1. Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
  2. Cream butter and sugar: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the softened butter, light brown sugar, and molasses until fluffy and well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined.
  3. Add dry to wet ingredients: With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until the dough just comes together. Avoid overmixing to keep the cookies tender.
  4. Chill the dough: Divide the dough in half, wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour or overnight for convenience.
  5. Preheat oven and prepare dough: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Remove dough from fridge and let rest about 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness using about ¼ cup flour per dough disc to prevent sticking. If dough is too soft, incorporate more flour as needed.
  6. Cut and transfer cookies: Use a 4-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut shapes from the rolled dough. Remove excess dough and transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, preferably half sheet pans with raised edges. Re-roll scraps and repeat until all dough is used.
  7. Bake cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until just set. Let them cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  8. Prepare royal icing: In a bowl, combine powdered sugar, warm water, meringue powder, and cream of tartar. Beat at low speed until moistened, then beat at medium speed for 1 to 3 minutes until the icing is slightly thickened and glossy. Keep covered until ready to use.
  9. Decorate cookies: Once cookies are completely cooled, decorate with royal icing and sprinkle with your choice of decorations.

Notes

  • For softer cookies, do not overbake; remove from oven as soon as edges are set.
  • Chilling the dough helps prevent spreading and makes it easier to roll.
  • If dough becomes too sticky while rolling, chill it again or dust with additional flour.
  • Royal icing can be tinted with food coloring for festive designs.
  • Store decorated cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Find it online: https://sweetworldcooks.com/soft-and-chewy-gingerbread-men-cookies-recipe/