21 Days til Christmas – Gingerbread Man Cookies

countdowntochristmas-graphic

Today, we are making part of the recipe that goes with tomorrow’s countdown recipe. This one has been on my Pinterest board and in the back of my mind for a while now. Probably since it was originally posted in 2013! I think this countdown is the perfect excuse for me to finally make this.

The cookie recipe stands well on its own, which is why I have split this into two different posts. The finished product (today and tomorrow) will make a wonderful gift for someone on your list, or to wow your guests with. These cookies are a nice lower-sugar option. Especially at this time of year where everything is typically pretty indulgent. I mean, they are still cookies, so be responsible.

To really make this next level (for finishing the project tomorrow) I would love to have a cutter even smaller than this one. These will still be awesome, but smaller would just be a teeny but more perfect.

You will need a small cookie cutter… I found mine in a set at a dollar store a few years ago. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a small cookie cutter in a gingerbread man shape, since we live in the age of the Internet… But If you have your heart set on making this, but no tiny gingerbread man cookie cutter, you could just cut the dough into little squares. You’ll get the same taste sensation, just with a little less visual impact.

Here are some squares… just be sure to space them out before popping them into the oven.

So lets get to the recipe…

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Servings: Varies
Time: 1 hour +/- chilling times
Difficulty: Medium
Print

A very adaptable recipe for your holiday baking

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Cloves
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Salt
6 Tbsp Butter (or you can sub in Coconut Oil)
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Molasses
1 egg yolk

Directions

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together in a separate bowl. (everything between flour and salt above).
In the bowl of your stand mixer (with paddle attachment), cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the Molasses and the egg yolk and beat until combined.
Carefully add the dry ingredients (so you don’t get a fine dusting of spiced flour on every surface in your kitchen).
Combine until there are no more streaks in the dough
Roll out to about 1/4″ thickness. If you wanted them a little crisp, roll then out a little thinner. Follow your gut here, just make sure everything is even.
Cut out your tiny gingerbread men… or whatever shape you chose.
Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. You may need to stick the dough in the fridge while doing the cut out and placing on the cookie sheet. If the dough feels too wet and floppy, throw it in the fridge and save yourself some frustration.
Cool the cut out men in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Bake at 350F for 5-15 minutes. Put them directly in the preheated oven from the fridge. Keep an eye on them during baking, you don’t want them over done. Since these are so tiny, they may cook really fast. I made the baking time pretty broad because it all depends on the thickness and size of your cut out shapes.
Let cool.

Keep your dough as cold as you can. The warmer it gets, the harder it is to work with, and the less nice your final cookies will be. This may mean several trips into the fridge to keep the dough nice and cool.

One final tip… the more successive roll outs you do with the dough, the more those cookies will spread. I did the first roll out with as many little gingerbread men as I could fit, and then cut the second round into little squares. I won’t care if the edges of the squares are spread out and a little wonky. If you are really worried about spreading, and want perfectly crisp edges, then I would try a different recipe with zero leavening agents (ie, baking soda).

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow to see what we are going to put these little cuties into.

Ps: I’m TRYING to figure out the codes for a printable recipe, so bear with me if it looks a bit weird up in here for a bit. I’m not a coder in any definition of the word.

The Crafty Cultivator