Gingerbread Men Cookie Recipe
Makes approx. 30, 4-inch gingerbread men.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease or line 2 baking sheets or cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Ingredients:
Whisk together in a medium bowl:
- 3 ½ cups (415g) all-purpose flour.
- 1 tbs ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda.
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground cloves.
Beat in a large bowl or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, until creamy:
- ½ cup (100g) sugar or ½ cup packed (115g) brown sugar
- 4 tbs (55g) unsalted butter, softened.
Beat in:
- ½ cup (170g) molasses.
Add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture in two parts alternating with:
- ½ cup (80g) water.
Use dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days. Let the dough get to room temperature before rolling.
Divide the dough in half. Cover one half with plastic wrap and roll out the other half between two pieces of parchment paper to ¼ thick. Cut out cookies using a 4-5 inch all cutter and arrange 1 ½ inches part on the prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps and reroll one time to cut out more cookies. Bake until the edges of the cookies have just barely darkened, 8 to 10 minutes, switching oven racks and rotating the sheets halfway through. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing.
Pipe the icing using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8 inch round tip, and apply the icing with a wooden pick or a small knife for additional garnishes – caps, hair, mustaches, belts, etc.
Royal Icing
Makes approx 2 cups.
Sift together into a medium bowl:
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar.
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
Beat in a large bowl, or in a standing mixer with the whisk attachment, until the mixture is stiff but not dry:
- 2 large egg whites
Gradually add the sifted sugar mixture and:
- 2 tbs lemon juice.
Combine until it is a good consistency to spread. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to use.
If you want the icing to be stiffer, add a little more sifted sugar. To make it softer, thin it very gradually with lemon juice or water.