Hello my loves,
I gotta be honest, gingerbread men are not my go-to cookie during the holidays. Yes, they’re always cute and look festive but in my experience, the vast majority of gingerbread men are hard and crunchy cookies. I don’t really care for hard and crunchy cookies therefore I avoid them most of the time. This recipe however, came from my grandma so I knew I had to give it a try.
These gingerbread men are soft and chewy, full of rich molasses flavor and totally beat any other gingerbread men cookies I’ve had before. I’m being 100% honest here, these will knock your socks off if you are looking for a soft gingerbread men cookie recipe.
*note* the dough is unlike any other cookie dough I’ve worked with before. It is almost caramel-like and yes, the instructions may seem odd. The dough even after it’s chilled (which is crucial so don’t skip) is very sticky. So have the flour ready for rolling. Flour the top and bottom of each 1/4 of the dough you roll out, flour the mat and the rolling pin. Trust me. The end result is sooo worth it.
Soft Gingerbread Men Cookies
Soft Gingerbread Men Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup molasses
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- In a *large* saucepan, add the molasses, butter and sugar. Bring to a quick boil then remove from heat and cool at room temp for an hour.
- After that has cooled, add the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger and baking soda directly to the large saucepan. Stir completely. Next add in the beaten eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into a metal bowl, cover and chill dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight.
- Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Generously flour the surface you're rolling the cookies out on. Take 1/4 or 1/3 of the dough and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick or a little less. Cut out shapes and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until edges are starting to brown. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely, frost and decorate as desired.
Notes
- I know it will look like a thick caramel consistency and it is odd. Just go with it. Follow the directions and they will be perfect!
- When rolling the dough out, make sure to use a lot of flour. This is a sticky dough! Also, make it a little thinner than what you would make sugar cookies.
- It's hard to tell when the edges are browning because of the color of gingerbread men. It might take a little trial and error with the first sheet to see how your oven cooks the cookies. I always set the timer for the least amount of time and then keep a close eye on them from there. My oven sweet spot for these was 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Very specific, I know! haha Every oven is different so keep an eye on them.
I promise this recipe will deliver soft gingerbread men cookies! Just don’t over bake them 🙂 If you make them, don’t forget to tag me @tessa_port!
