These chubby gingerbread man cookies are as delicious as they are cute! Soft and full of holiday spices, these cookies are fun to make with kids.
WHY I LIKE THIS RECIPE
- Flavorful. Loaded with spices, molasses, and red hots buttons, they are full of holiday spice flavor.
- No cookie cutter needed. The fun shapes are made by rolling balls of dough into various sizes, then pressing them together.
- Easy to decorate. I kept mine simple with icing and cinnamon candies, but you can decorate them however you’d like!
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
I just made these today and love them!!! My husband and kids love them too, they are really easy to make, just takes a little bit of time.—Abigail
TIPS AND TRICKS
- Chill the dough. This is a slightly sticky dough, so giving it a quick 25-30 minutes makes the dough easier to scoop and roll. I also lightly flour my hands when rolling the dough into balls.
- Let cool on baking sheets. The cookies are quite soft when warm, and gingerbread cookies are best eaten cold anyway — the flavors are much stronger! Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet when they come out of the oven.
- Store in an airtight container. These chubby cookies are soft and will stay soft for several days if stored in an airtight container.
INGREDIENTS
- Sugar: I typically use a combination of brown sugar and white sugar in my cookies, but for gingerbread cookies it’s white sugar all the way.
- Molasses: regular molassses, nothing fancy.
- Butter: I always bake with salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. The original recipe calls for lard or shortening. I like butter for these, but you can use whatever you’d like. If using shortening, you may not need to freeze the cookies on baking sheets before baking.
- Water: you’ll need hot water for this recipe. Hot tap water works fine, no need to use boiling water.
- Egg: for richness and texture.
- Baking Soda and Salt: for leavening and flavor.
- Ground Ginger, Ground Cinnamon and Ground Cloves: my favorite blend of spices for gingerbread cookies.
- Flour
- Candy or sprinkles: I use cinnamon candies for the buttons. You can use a mini M&M, frosting, or sprinkles.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Sugar: I typically use a combination of brown sugar and white sugar in my cookies, but for gingerbread cookies it’s white sugar all the way.
- Molasses: regular molassses, nothing fancy.
- Butter: I always bake with salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. The original recipe calls for lard or shortening. I like butter for these, but you can use whatever you’d like. If using shortening, you may not need to freeze the cookies on baking sheets before baking.
- Water: you’ll need hot water for this recipe. Hot tap water works fine, no need to use boiling water.
- Egg: for richness and texture.
- Baking Soda and Salt: for leavening and flavor.
- Ground Ginger, Ground Cinnamon and Ground Cloves: my favorite blend of spices for gingerbread cookies.
- Flour
- Candy or sprinkles: I use cinnamon candies for the buttons. You can use a mini M&M, frosting, or sprinkles.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
HOW TO MAKE CHUBBY GINGERBREAD MAN COOKIES
Step 1: Combine sugar, molasses, and softened butter. Mix until smooth. Add hot water and mix.
Step 2: Mix in the egg. Add dry ingredients and mix until dough forms. Cover the dough with plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Roll a tablespoon-sized scoop of dough into a ball. Use this for the body.
Step 4: Roll a tablespoon-sized scoop of dough into a ball. Break in half and roll each piece into a ball. Use the smaller ball for the head.
Step 5: Roll a tablespoon-sized scoop of dough into a ball. Break into 8 small sections. Roll each section into balls. Use these small balls for the hands and feet.
Step 6: Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. Decorate cooled cookies with icing and candy.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
