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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Made this for the first time for my grandchildren and thay loved them thay have gone on to make them amazing
Our first attempt at Gingerbread, was fun to make (with my 5 year old) and happy with our slightly deformed results. Taste really good- we didn’t have ginger so made cinnamon ones instead and they are yummy- a lot eaten in quick succession by my 2 year old! (we made mini men)
I made these with my 10 year old niece today and the were fabulous. We piped eyes and smiles on them and used smarties as buttons.
On half of them, we dipped their feet in dark chocolate and covered them in snowflakes so that it looked like they had walked through the snow. We were both super chuffed with the outcome. Thanks for another excellent recipe Jane
Absolutely love your recipes Jane! Would you take the bicarb out of this to make it stronger for a gingerbread house? Thanks 🙂
Hi Jane, I’ve just made these for the first time ever & they taste great , I made them into bigger than normal trees & managed to make 16. I’ve tried several of your recipes & they have all turned out ok, I only started baking last year so still a novice. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
I made this to the letter but they spread a bit more than I’d hoped. Is there anything you can think I might have done wrong? They taste delicious and the texture is perfect for me, soft and chewy, they just lost a little definition during baking. PS I turned some upside down and made them into reindeer! 😂 Xx
It probably is just that they got too hot/soft whilst you were shaping them!
was your cookie cutter the same size/shape as the biscuits? xx
Hi Jane,
Can I recplace the golden syrup by somenthing else? It’s not a common product to find in Belgium.
Thank you for your help!
I’m not 100% sure I’m afraid, but after a google it says maybe Corn Syrup?!
Is there a step missing? Where and when do you add the sugar, golden syrup etc?
It’s been updated x
Can I leave the dough in the fridge overnight and bake them the next day?
I personally wouldn’t – I don’t chill this dough at all x
Made these for the first time. Amazing!
Could I add cocoa powder to make chocolate gingerbread?? How much cocoa powder would I need! Thanks 🙂
I’ve never tried I’m afraid but I guess replace 25g of the flour with cocoa powder!
Hi! I followed your recipie exactly same and the gingerbread biscuits turned out great and very tasty. I was worried beginning with because I thought the dough would be too dry but once added the golden syrup and an egg it was the perfect dough. Thank you and I will check out and try your other recipes.
Love these…but could they be made with gluten free flour?
Yes you can! But sometimes you might need a bit more flour as it can be sticky using it!
Thank you, I will give it a go.
Yes they could you just add a bit more or less flower and they will be great xx
Adorable..I remember when my boys were young and we made and decorated gingerbread cookies….ah, the good ole days… 🙂
So fun and good to do with kids! 🙂
Yuuuum! Definitely going to make these as part of my holiday baking.
Yay! Thank you!
Cant wait to make these!!!
Yay! Thank you Molly! Enjoy them! 🙂
They look very cute 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
How many days in advance could I make these for a xmas fayre, they would be in cellophane bags