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Easy Gingerbread Man Cookies

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  • Prep 1 hr 15 min
  • Total 1 hr 15 min
  • Servings 24
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Feeling merry and bright? We’ve got a classic cookie that’ll keep your holiday spirit alive. For centuries, warming spices have filled homes with coziness, and we hope this tradition never ends. After all, cinnamon, cloves and ginger are the defining spices of gingerbread—the holliest, jolliest cookie of them all! But during the bustling holiday season, there’s not always time to make this traditional cookie from scratch, but don’t fret. Betty’s gingerbread cookie mix will help you bake up these tried-and-true Christmas cutouts without all the fuss. This low-ingredient recipe, let’s you focus on the decorating making it a perfect weekend baking project to take on with the littlest bakers in your life.
Updated Oct 28, 2023
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What are Basic Gingerbread Man Cookies?

Dense, ginger-spiced basic gingerbread man cookies are one of the most iconic Christmas cookies, ever. The classic recipe has an amazingly long list of ingredients…which takes some time to mix. Our easy version starts with a cookie mix and just a few ingredients, so you can get to the fun of decorating and eating them sooner.

How Do I Make Easy Gingerbread Cookies?

With just a few ingredients, the dough for simple gingerbread cookies comes together in a jiffy. It’s rolled out and cut with cookie cutters, to form the cutest cookies ever. After they are baked, they are decorated with frosting and cinnamon candies.

How Do I Frost Simple Gingerbread Cookies?

Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy frosting is the perfect choice when you want easy gingerbread cookies and you plan to eat the cookies right away. If you’re looking to store your cookies, see the FAQ below, for other options.

Ingredients

Steps

  • 1
    Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, water and egg until soft dough forms.
  • 2
    On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 2 inches apart.
  • 3
    Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
  • 4
    Spoon frosting into decorating bag fitted with round tip. Pipe frosting on cookies. Decorate with cinnamon decors.

Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens

  • tip 1
    You can bake cookies and store them tightly covered in the freezer for up to two months.
  • tip 2
    Gingerbread freezes well. If you’re anticipating a hectic holiday season, bake a batch now, wrap them up and store in your freezer for up to two months.
  • tip 3
    Want to pipe your cookies but don’t have a piping bag? No worries. You can use a resealable plastic bag—just cut the corner of the bag and fill it with the frosting of your choice. For more details, check out our instructions for making a homemade piping bag.
  • tip 4
    If your easy gingerbread man cookie dough is sticky, it might be because the butter was partially melted, which is too soft for cookies that call for softened butter. The best way to soften butter is to leave sticks (still in their wrappers but out of the box) on the counter for about 1/2 hour. Or you can microwave unwrapped sticks on very low (20%) about 1 minute, turning the sticks once, about halfway through. If your dough is still sticky to roll out, refrigerate it about 15 minutes or until firm.
  • tip 5
    These cookies are an excellent choice to get ahead on your holiday baking! Store cooled cookies in a tightly covered container in the freezer for up to two months.
  • tip 6
    Looking for photo-worthy decorated cookies but you don’t own a pastry bag? No problem…simply spoon the frosting into one corner of a quart-size resealable food storage bag. Close the bag and snip off the tiniest piece of the corner by the frosting. (You’d be surprised at how big the hole gets, so start very small and cut more if necessary, for a thicker line). Twist the excess bag that doesn’t have frosting, and pipe it onto your cookies!
  • tip 7
    The best part about making cutouts is that the shapes are completely up to you. Tired of the same-old gingerbread men? Try using a star or even a tree cutter, the possibilities are endless.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are more ways I can decorate simple gingerbread cookies?

If you are looking for frosting for your easy gingerbread cookies that will set up so that you can store the cookies or mail them, try our white decorating cookie icing or royal icing. They both are great choices.

Can I Cut My Easy Gingerbread Cookies with Other Cookie Cutters?

Yes! You can use any cookie cutters you wish! Stars or trees are a few of our favorites. Just know that if the shape of the cookie cutter has small, tight areas (like Santa’s boot on a Santa cutter), some of the dough might get stuck in the cookie cutters and the intricate shape might be lost as the cookies puff up during baking. Also note that different-sized cutters will change your cookie yield and may need adjustment to the bake time.

Nutrition

160 Calories, 7g Total Fat, 1g Protein, 22g Total Carbohydrate, 14g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Cookie
Calories
160
Calories from Fat
60
Total Fat
7g
11%
Saturated Fat
3g
16%
Trans Fat
1g
Cholesterol
20mg
6%
Sodium
150mg
6%
Potassium
10mg
0%
Total Carbohydrate
22g
7%
Dietary Fiber
0g
0%
Sugars
14g
Protein
1g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
2%
2%
Vitamin C
0%
0%
Calcium
0%
0%
Iron
0%
0%
Exchanges:
0 Starch; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 1/2 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
1 1/2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

  • Intricately shaped and decorated gingerbread goes back to the Middle Ages, when adoring ladies would present brave knights with it before going into tournament battles. Today, gingerbread is usually either in the form of cookies or molasses cake that has ginger and other spices. Today’s gingerbread men (or women, or kids!) are typically crisper cookies, so they hold their shape when cut with cookie cutters and keep for a long time (perfect for a month of holiday festivities!). If softer cookies are more your thing, try ginger crinkles or our ginger pumpkin cookies.
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