Gingerbread Men
A spiced ginger and treacle dough cut into little men and cooked for 12 minutes until crisp at the edge. Sixteen biscuits in 40 minutes.
Photograph credit: Gingerbread men (image of gingerbread man on Wikidata Q2984665) by Gaetan Lee · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Don't Make These Mistakes
Chill the dough.
Roll to an even thickness.
If your oven runs hot, check at 9 minutes.
Decorate only when cool.
Making Gingerbread Men
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Rub the butter into the flour, spices and bicarbonate, then stir in the brown sugar. Add the egg and golden syrup and bring together into a dough. Chill for 30 minutes.
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Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F. Roll the dough to 5 mm and cut out 16 shapes.
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Cook on lined trays for 12 minutes until darker at the edges. Cool on a rack.
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Mix the icing sugar and water and pipe on faces and buttons.
What's Going On Here
The dough smells of ginger, cinnamon and treacle long before it is baked, and that smell is the best part of making them. The biscuits are crisp at the edge, chewy in the middle and sturdy enough to hang on a tree.
Rub the butter into the flour and spices, then add the sugar and bind with golden syrup and a beaten egg. The dough will be soft and sticky at first. Chill it for 30 minutes to firm it up, because warm dough sticks to the cutter and loses its shape.
Roll to about 5 mm, which gives a biscuit that is firm but not hard. Cut out the shapes and lift them carefully onto a lined tray.
Cook at 180°C for 12 minutes, until the edges darken slightly. If your oven runs hot, check at 9 minutes. Cool on a rack, then decorate with icing. Currants make quick eyes and buttons if you do not want to ice them.
Storage and Reheating
Keeps in an airtight tin for up to 1 week.
What to Serve Alongside
- Hot chocolate
- Glass of milk
- Pot of tea
- Mulled cider
Still Wondering?
How long does Gingerbread Men take to make?
About 37 minutes in total — 25 minutes of preparation and 12 minutes of cooking. The recipe serves 16.
What are the key tips for making Gingerbread Men?
Chill the dough. Roll to an even thickness. If your oven runs hot, check at 9 minutes. Decorate only when cool.
What should I serve with Gingerbread Men?
Hot chocolate; Glass of milk; Pot of tea; Mulled cider.
How should Gingerbread Men be stored?
Keeps in an airtight tin for up to 1 week.
Is Gingerbread Men suitable for a special diet?
This recipe is vegetarian, low-carb and keto. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.
Gingerbread Men Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.
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Written and tested by Turab
One person, one kitchen — no test kitchen, no team. How every recipe on this site is checked before it goes up.
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