Gingerbread Men!
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A chewy & crunchy Christmassy biscuit that everyone will love to bake & decorate!
Christmas recipes
I have been asking on my Facebook page recently what sort of Christmas themed recipes everyone wanted and this was 100% one of them – like so many people asked for it, I couldn’t not bake it – GINGERBREAD MEN!
The only other Christmassy biscuits I have on my blog already are my white chocolate & cranberry cookies and my chocolate orange cookies and others – and don’t get me wrong, both of these are delicious – however, they aren’t gingerbread men.
Gingerbread
I have had my troubles with gingerbread over the years strangely enough, even if it seems like one of the most common Christmas bakes.
I have tried other recipes and they have all gone so wrong – spreading so much they form a giant cookie, or being so crunchy I feel like my teeth will break – this recipe though, its the perfect mix of crunchy & chewy, and they don’t spread! The men actually still look like men when they come out of the oven!
But anyway, this recipe honestly is my go-to gingerbread biscuit recipe, I have never failed with it since I developed the recipe and it has been a massive hit with all of my taste testers over time. I find it’s the perfect mix of all things spicy, and the biscuit is both crunchy and chewy at the same time which is what I am after in a gingerbread biscuit.
A classic
Yes, I realise you are supposed to call these gingerbread biscuits, or gingerbread people these days, but I stuck with the classic name. Also, the cookie cutters I have used for years are some my granny had, and the ‘female’ one was lost a long time ago… Needless to say, I could have just bought more, but I wanted to stick to traditions in my festive baking ways.
Other gingerbread recipes
I updated the photos for this post but the recipe has stayed the same. It’s not something I personally want to mess with any time soon! This sorta recipe is the perfect bake to top and decorate the gingerbread drip cake recipe I have, and my Christmas gingerbread cake recipe!
A must try recipe
I get several messages every year about what my favourite gingerbread biscuit recipe is and have I got anything to save the bakers from every other recipe they have tried, and this one is the solution. That is not meant to sound bigheaded in any way, but I honestly have never had any issues with this recipe in the entire time I have baked it.
Tradition
As I write this, its the day before the 30th of November, so all I can think about is how its ‘officially’ the festive season starting tomorrow, and how I can start munching on my advent calendars tomorrow.
Every year, I bake gingerbread men to munch on, and they last a good while as well. One of the best tricks? Making a gingerbread hot chocolate and dunking *several* biscuits into the drink whilst decorating the house.
Gingerbread is one of the simplest, but best festive bakes around. There is the occasional person out there that doesn’t like gingerbread, which is fair enough, but you can easily play around with the levels of spices to suit your personal tastes. I like my biscuits to be really ‘gingery’ but my brother prefers them to have a bit more spice from cinnamon in.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Enjoy! X
Gingerbread Men!
Ingredients
- 375 g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 3 tsps ground ginger
- 120 g unsalted butter (cold & cubed)
- 175 g light brown sugar
- 5 tbsps golden syrup
- 1 medium egg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190C/180C Fan and line 3-4 baking trays with parchment paper (or do it in two batches if you only have two trays!)
- Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and ginger to a large bowl and add the cold, cubed butter to the bowl
- Rub together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs! (Or mix the four ingredients in a food processor till its breadcrumbs!)
- Mix the sugar into the mix and combine, and then add the golden syrup and egg - beat with a spatula/your hands until it is a smooth dough.
- Knead the biscuit dough, and then roll the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Roll it out to 1/2cm thickness and cut out your desired shapes! I did gingerbread men, snowmen, and Christmas trees!
- Place them on the lined baking trays and bake in the oven for 10-11 minutes, cool on a wire rack fully, and then decorate how you please!
Notes
- I like my biscuits very gingery otherwise it just doesn’t float my boat, but feel free to use less! (Or even a different spice – like cinnamon!)
- These biscuits will last for about a week in an airtight container, if they last that long!
- It's best to decorate with things such as sweets, chocolate, or royal icing!
- I don't chill my dough before baking.
- You can add in 1/2tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice if you prefer it spicier!
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J x
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We rolled thicker and cooked longer- they came out more cakey and less crunchy but super delicious! Thank you x
I have made this recipe SO many times & it never fails!! The best compliment I’ve had was, “These are the best gingerbread biscuits I’ve ever tasted!”
They truly are, thanks Jane! You are the best 😊
I’ve made this recipe for the last 2 years in a row at Christmas time, and am about to make my 3rd batch today.
It’s super simple, uses ingredients that I can easily find in the UK, and produces a delicious soft gingerbread biscuit that my other half absolutely loves!
I usually make a variety of sizes of biscuits and gift them to people. This year I plan to double the amount I make and do a gingerbread house!
Hi Jane,
I’m in Australia – I want to make your biscuits, as they look delicious.
I’ve had a look online (for research) but I’m a bit confused – should I use bicarb soda or baking powder?
Thanks,
Simone
Hey! I’m not sure what the changes might be, but in the UK you need bicarbonate of soda for this, and not baking powder. x
Can a plant based butter block be used in place of the unsalted butter?
I have used the Flora Block ‘vegan’ butter from Woolworths (Australia), and they turned out exactly the same 🙂
Hi, I’ve just made some with a plant based block and they worked super well!
Been meaning to bake Gingerbread men for ages and finally got round to it…. This recipe is sublime and made perfect gingerbread, it was crunchy with a soft centre. I used plain/ wholewheat flour and a mix of soft and dark brown sugar then added a tablespoon of milk to bring the dough together and just perfect. Just decorated and they look and taste fab. Thanks Jane for another superb recipe.
Made according to the recipe but instead of so much ginger which I am not fond of I used 1 teaspoon of ginger, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla plus I used salted butter to counter the sweetness a wee bit and they turned out pretty good. Everyone has really liked them and I will add this recipe to my Christmas baking collection. Thanks
Can I pre made the dough the night before ? Can I leave it in the fridge ? I want to roll out, cut and bake the gingerbread with my students in the school.
Hello! 🙂 If I’m making smaller gingerbread stars, like the ones that feature in your pictures next to your gingerbread men, did you just bake for a slightly shorter time and keep an eye on them? Thank you so much for the lovely recipe 🙂 x
Yes!! A couple less minutes should do perfect x
This is my first time baking gingerbread cookies and the recipe was so true to what is mentioned. I made exactly with the mentioned measurements and it turned out wonderfully. My kids loved them and my husband too. I am so happy I tried this recipe and thank you a ton Jane for this absolutely amazing perfect recipe.
PS: My first comment for a recipe ( I have tried hundreds )
Hi Jane,
I’d like to make these for Christmas with my Special needs class but have several children who are coeliac – would they work with gluten free flour?
Thanks
Rachel
Could I use dark brown soft sugar instead of light? Save me going to the shop haha
I did and it turned out fine
This was absolutely amazing! my whole family loved this and said it was the best gingerbread they had ever eaten, thank you so much for this recipe.
Thank you so much for this recipe, it is perfect! They came out soooo well. I used maple syrup because we didn’t have any golden. They actually stayed in the shape we cut them in!
Hi, love your recipes. Can I half the gingerbread men recipe?
That should be fine! Or you can make all of it and freeze half so it doesn’t alter the recipe x
Just made these with my daughter and will turn them into ghost, best recipe and so easy thanks so much so happy with them 🙂