Festive Gingerbread Man Cookies are perfect for the holidays! They are lightly spiced and soft, but hold their shape!

Gingerbread Man Cookies

I was born with a tremor in both of my hands. It doesn’t really set me back, except for when it comes to doing detailed things like decorating these Gingerbread Cookies. I love doing things like this so I don’t avoid it, but it does take me a lot longer to do than the average person.

As I waited for the icing to harden I kept asking my husband and son if they thought they looked okay. Because my hands aren’t steady it’s hard to control the amount of icing that comes out and it’s especially hard to make straight lines. I was feeling discouraged because I had looked at pictures of other cookies online to get design ideas and their cookies were so stunningly perfect! I felt like I missed the mark.

My husband said my cookies looked beautiful and my son said, “Mom, it doesn’t matter what they look like. It matters what they taste like and those are FANTASTIC!” I love my boys so very much, they are so complimenting of me – even when I know they are just trying to flatter me. And that’s okay with me.

I finally came to terms with my imperfectly decorated cookies because if I do say so myself, they really are the very best Gingerbread Cookies I have ever tasted in my life!

These are a fun addition to Christmas Cookie boxes! They would fit nicely next to a few Peanut Butter Blossoms, Crock Pot Christmas Crack, Butter Pecan Fudge, and Peanut Butter Pretzel Bark. Oh, and don’t forget to include some Chex Scotcheroos!

What You’ll Need for the Cookie Dough:

• 1 cup Butter, Softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup Light Molasses
• 2 tbsp White Vinegar
• 5 cups Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground Cloves

And the Icing:

• 3 cups Powdered Sugar
• 4 tbsp Milk
• 2 tbsp Light Corn Syrup

How to Make Gingerbread Cookies

• Add 1 cup softened butter and 1 cup sugar to a large bowl and beat until well combined and fluffy. Add 1 egg, 1 cup light molasses, and 2 tbsp white vinegar and beat until well combined. The mixture will look curdled.
• In a separate medium size bowl, whisk together 5 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, and 1 tsp ground cloves. Then pour into the wet batter and beat until well combined.
• Refrigerate dough covered for 1 hour.
• When the dough is done chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Working in sections, roll the dough to 1/2 inch thick on floured countertop.
• Cut into Gingerbread Man shapes. You could also make Gingerbread Snowflake Cookies!
• Place onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
• Repeat with remaining dough.
• Once cooled, make the icing by beating together 3 cups powdered sugar, 4 tbsp milk, and 2 tbsp light corn syrup. The icing is the thickness you need when it drips off the beaters and holds its shape for several seconds before dissolving back into the rest of the icing. If it’s too thick, add a little milk. If it’s too thin, add a little powdered sugar.
• Transfer to a piping bottle and draw desired designs onto the cookies.

More Christmas Cookies:

• Andes Mint Cake Mix Cookies
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Star Cookies
• Santa’s Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
• Gingerbread Cookie Bars
• 2-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cup Christmas Cookies
• Gingersnap Cookies
• Chewy Sugar Cookies
• 2-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Christmas M&M Cookie Bars
• Reindeer Oreos
• No Bake Avalanche Cookies
• Best Soft Christmas Cutout Sugar Cookies + VIDEO
• 20 Best Christmas Cookie Exchange Recipes
• Christmas Sprinkle Cake Mix Cookies
• Oreo Ornament Cookies
• Gnome Cookie Cups

Free Christmas Printables:

• Grinch Christmas Gift Tags
• Christmas Gift Tags
• Letters to Santa
• Christmas Coloring Book
• Christmas Memory Game
• A Little Extra Dough for Christmas
• Wishing You a Sparkling Holiday Season
• Reindeer Noses Bag Topper
• Teacher Appreciation Amazon Gift Card Tags
• Gnome Christmas Gift Tags
• Elf Kisses Bag Topper
• Grinch Pills Bag Topper

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Gingerbread Cookies

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Gingerbread Cookies, festive Gingerbread Man Cookies are perfect for the holidays! They are lightly spiced and soft, but hold their shape!

Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time 9 minutes

Total Time 9 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup Butter, Softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup Light Molasses
• 2 tbsp White Vinegar
• 5 cups Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground Cloves

Icing

• 3 cups Powdered Sugar
• 4 tbsp Milk
• 2 tbsp Light Corn Syrup

Instructions

1. Add softened butter and sugar to a large bowl and beat until well combined and fluffy. Add egg, molasses, and white vinegar and beat until well combined. The mixture will look curdled.
2. In a separate medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves. Then pour into the wet batter and beat until well combined.
3. Refrigerate covered dough for 1 hour.
4. When the dough is done chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Working in sections, roll the dough to 1/2 inch thick on floured countertop.
6. Cut into Gingerbread Man shapes. You could also make Gingerbread Snowflake Cookies!
7. Place onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
8. Repeat with remaining dough.
9. Once cooled, make the icing by beating together powdered sugar, milk, and light corn syrup. The icing is the thickness you need when it drips off the beaters and holds its shape for several seconds before dissolving back into the rest of the icing. If it's too thick, add a little milk. If it's too thin, add a little powdered sugar.
10. Transfer to a piping bottle and draw desired designs onto the cookies.