Gingerbread Men

Total Time Prep: 40 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
Yield about 2 dozen
Test Kitchen Approved
These festive gingerbread men cookies are soft and chewy, are filled with cozy winter flavors and hold their shape perfectly after baking. Grab your favorite frosting and decorate to your heart's content!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • Frosting of choice

Directions

  1. Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in molasses, egg and water. In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients minus frosting; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; cover. Refrigerate until easy to handle, about 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 4-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
  3. Bake until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Frost as desired.

Nutrition Facts

1 cookie (calculated without frosting): 118 calories, 4g fat (2g saturated fat), 17mg cholesterol, 128mg sodium, 19g carbohydrate (9g sugars, 0 fiber), 2g protein.

No holiday treat platter would be complete without gingerbread men cookies! This is a tried-and-true recipe I'm happy to share with you. —Mitzi Sentiff, Annapolis, Maryland
Recipe Creator

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