chubby gingerbread men cookies

these adorable chubby gingerbread men cookies are perfectly spiced, delightfully soft, and don’t require any gingerbread men cookie cutters! with their plump, rounded bodies, these little characters are the most charming addition to your christmas cookie plate – and kids will absolutely love making them!

why you will love this chubby gingerbread men recipe

• no gingerbread men cutters needed – this gingerbread men cookie recipe doesn’t require any special gingerbread men cookie cutters. just roll balls of dough and press them together to create adorable gingerbread men shapes. this recipe is perfect if you don’t have the right cookie cutters or want a fun, freeform approach to christmas cookies.

• kid-friendly and fun to make – rolling dough balls and assembling them into gingerbread men shapes would be a fun activity for kids, and there’s no rolling pin or dough scraps to deal with either.

• soft and chewy texture – these gingerbread men biscuits are tender and chewy rather than hard and crispy. they’re perfectly spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and molasses, and the texture is satisfyingly soft – ideal for those who prefer a softer gingerbread cookie.

learn how to make these chubby gingerbread men from scratch

to make these chubby gingerbread men cookies, we’ll start by making a classic gingerbread cookie dough. we’ll cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar, then mix in molasses or treacle, an egg, and vanilla extract. after combining the dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and warming spices like ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves – we’ll mix everything together until we have a sticky gingerbread cookie dough. let the gingerbread men cookie dough chill in the fridge until it firms up. once it’s ready, instead of rolling out the dough and using gingerbread men cookie cutters, we’ll divide the dough into portions and roll 6 different sized balls for each chubby gingerbread man cookie – a large one for the body, a medium one for the head, and 2 smaller ones each for arms and legs.

press the different dough balls together to create a gingerbread man shape, then place your assembled gingerbread men into the freezer so that they’ll retain their shape in the oven without spreading too much.

once they’re ready, we’ll bake them in the oven. as they bake, the dough balls will spread slightly and merge together, creating those adorable rounded, chubby gingerbread men!

once you remove the chubby gingerbread men from the oven, let them cool completely and then make the icing by mixing together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. decorate the chubby gingerbread men with icing however you like, and we’re done!

chubby gingerbread men ingredients

• butter – we’re going to use unsalted butter here. if you would prefer to use salted butter, just skip the extra salt in the recipe. for this gingerbread men recipe, i’m going to cream the softened butter with the sugars.

• brown sugar – i’m using dark brown sugar because the brown sugar gives these gingerbread men cookies more of a chewy and soft texture and a nicer caramel-like flavour that really complements the spices in these cookies. dark brown sugar will have a stronger flavour, so you can use light brown sugar if you don’t want that strong molasses flavour.

• granulated sugar – this recipe uses a mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar.

• molasses – adding molasses to these gingerbread cheesecake cookies helps make these cookies extra chewy and soft, and adds a deeper flavour that complements the spices. i’d recommend using unsulfured molasses, but you can also make these gingerbread men with treacle or golden syrup.

• egg – we’re just going to use one large egg in to make these chubby gingerbread men cookies. make sure it’s at room temperature so that it’s able to combine easily with the rest of the ingredients.

• vanilla extract – optional, but a splash of it will add a nice, subtle vanilla flavour to your gingerbread men. i also use vanilla extract when making the icing.

• flour – we’ll be using plain flour/all purpose flour for this recipe.

• spices – i’m going to be using cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves in these spiced gingerbread men cookies. i love using freshly ground spices, but you can use anything you like.

• baking soda and baking powder – i use just a small amount of baking soda and baking powder in these chubby gingerbread men cookies to get a good balance of spread and thickness.

• salt – a small amount of salt in the gingerbread men dough will help balance out some of the sweetness.

• icing sugar or powdered sugar – this is used to make the icing for when we decorate the chubby gingerbread men.

• milk – a small amount of milk is added to the icing to help us get the right consistency so that we can decorate our gingerbread men easily.

tools:

• large bowl – you’ll need a large bowl for the wet ingredients – the final gingerbread men cookie dough will be made in this bowl, so you need to make sure it’s big enough

• medium bowl – for mixing the dry ingredients

• small bowl – for making the icing

• whisk or electric mixer – to make the gingerbread men cookie dough

• spoon or silicone spatula – for folding the dry ingredients in to the wet batter.

• parchment paper or baking paper – to line your baking tray as well as to line your tray when freezing the assembled chubby gingerbread men before baking.

• tray or dish – for when you freeze the assembled chubby gingerbread men before baking

• baking sheet or baking tray – for baking the chubby gingerbread men cookies.

• piping bag – to add the icing in for when you decorate the chubby gingerbread men cookies.

step by step instructions

for full measurements, keep scrolling down to the recipe below.

step one: in a large mixing bowl, CREAM softened, room temperature UNsalted butter UNTIL IT LOOKS SOFT AND CREAMY.

STEP TWO: add the granulated sugar and brown sugar. CREAM THE BUTTER AND SUGARS TOGETHER UNTIL COMPLETELY COMBINED AND soft.

step three: add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk these into the mixture until combined.

STEP four: ADD THE MOLASSES, AND again, whisk THIS INTO THE BATTER UNTIL COMPLETELY COMBINED. THE BATTER WILL BE A DARKER COLOUR AT THIS POINT.

STEP FIVE: IN ANOTHER BOWL, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, SALT, GROUND GINGER, GROUND CINNAMON, GROUND ALLSPICE AND GROUND CLOVES. mix all of this together.

STEP SIX: ADD ALL OF THE DRY INGREDIENTS TO THE WET BATTER, AND GENTLY FOLD them IN USING A SPOON OR SILICONE SPATULA UNTIL A gingerbread men cookie DOUGH IS FORMED. THE DOUGH WILL BE QUITE STICKY at this point, so you’ll need to place it in the fridge to firm up.

step SEVEN: place the bowl in the fridge and let the GINGERBREAD men cookie dough chill for around 1-2 hourS.

step EIGHT: once the dough is firm, begin splitting the dough into smaller dough balls so that we can assemble the chubby gingerbread men. for each gingerbread man, you’ll need to roll 6 balls of dough in different sizes. you should have a larger dough ball for the stomach, a slightly smaller one for the head, and 4 even smaller ones for the arms and legs. i went with 30g of dough for the stomach, 10g for the head, and 6g each for the arms and legs (or 1 tbsp for the stomach, 1 tsp for the head and 1/2 tsp for the arms and legs.) you can make these smaller if you like, just remember to make sure that there’s enough for each chubby gingerbread man cookie. if you feel that the dough is getting sticky while you’re doing this (as it does take some time), just place it back in the fridge for a few minutes until it firms up again.

step nine: roll each portion of dough into a smooth ball, then attach the stomach, head, arms and legs. place the assembled chubby gingerbread man onto a lined tray or dish. repeat until all of the dough is finished and you have around 9 or 10 chubby gingerbread men.

step ten: place the assembled chubby gingerbread men in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. this will ensure that they don’t spread too much in the oven are able to keep most of their shape.

step eleven: while the chubby ginger bread men are in the freezer, preheat oven and line a cookie sheet or baking tray with parchment paper or baking paper.

step twelve: remove the chubby gingerbread men from the freezer after 15-20 minutes, then place them on the prepared baking tray, making sure that there is enough space in between them so that they don’t spread into each other.

step ELEVEN: bake the chubby gingerbread men cookies for 15-18 minutes, or until the chubby gingerbread men have set edges and puffed up centres.

step TWELVE: remove the chubby gingerbread men from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

step THIRTEEN: once the gingerbread men cookies are completely cool, make the icing. in a small bowl, add icing sugar or powdered sugar, as well as some milk and some vanilla extract. just whisk these together until you get a thick icing. it should not be too runny, but should still be easy to pipe.

step FOURTEEN: add the icing to a piping bag and decorate the cooled gingerbread men cookies with the icing.

step fifteen: serve, and let’s eat!

tips and notes

• i would recommend using room temperature butter and eggs when making these chubby gingerbread men cookies. this will just make it easier to mix the ingredients and help the ingredients incorporate better.

• if you forgot to leave the butter out to let it soften, you can always put it in the microwave for about ten seconds, just so that it can soften slightly so that it’s easier to mix. make sure you don’t melt the butter completely or put it in the microwave for too long.

• if using salted butter instead of unsalted, just skip the extra 1/4 tsp of salt in the dry ingredients.

• i love to use freshly ground spices for the best flavour, but you can use anything that you have on hand.

• once you add the flour and dry ingredients to the cookie mixture, gently mix until just combined to avoid over mixing the dough. over mixing can make your cookies tough and less soft and chewy.

• i would really recommend chilling the dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours before trying to assemble the chubby gingerbread men cookies. this will help develop the flavours in the dough and also make the dough easier to handle when assembling the gingerbread men.

• use tablespoons/teaspoons or weigh out the cookie dough balls when making your chubby gingerbread men so that all of the cookies are equal and consistent in size. you should have 6 dough balls for each chubby gingerbread man:

  • 1 large ball (around 1 tbsp or 30g) for the body/stomach

  • 1 medium ball (around 1 tsp or 10g) for the head

  • 4 small balls (around 1/2 tsp or 6g) for the arms and legs

• if the cookie dough becomes too soft or sticky while you’re portioning it out and assembling the gingerbread men, just place it in the fridge for a while until it firms up again.

• when assembling the gingerbread men shape, make sure all the dough balls are touching and gently pressed together at the connection points. if they’re not touching, they won’t merge together during baking.

• freezing the shaped gingerbread men before baking is crucial! this 15 to 20-minute freeze helps the balls stay distinct and prevents them from spreading too much into one big blob. don’t skip this step. you can freeze them while you preheat the oven.

• adjust baking time as needed. every oven is different, so i recommend keeping an eye on your chubby gingerbread men as they bake. i like to take them out of the oven when they’re slightly underdone as they will continue to cook as they cool once they’re out of the oven. over baking might make your chubby gingerbread men dry and cakey and we definitely don’t want that! i baked these cookies for about 16 minutes, but keep in mind that baking times will depend on your oven, how long you’ve place the chubby gingerbread men in the freezer and how big your cookies are, so be sure to adjust times according to that. bigger gingerbread men will take more time to bake.

• once your gingerbread cheesecake cookies are out of the oven, the edges should be set, and they should have puffed up centres. let them cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

• use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. while i add both metric and cup measurements for this recipe, i always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients for most accurate results.

• if you do decide to use cups, this recipe has a slightly different than typical flour measurement since it bases flour measurements on scooping the flour (as this is what most people tend to do).

• when making the gingerbread men icing, you can adjust the amount of milk added until you’re happy with the consistency. it should not be runny, but also shouldn’t be so thick that it’s hard to pipe. if you find that it’s too runny, just add a little bit more icing sugar or powdered sugar. if it’s too thick, just add a little bit more milk.

• make sure the cookies are completely cool before you decorate the gingerbread men with icing. if you add it while the gingerbread men cookies are still warm, the frosting will melt.

• if you’re looking to make gingerbread men with white icing that dries hard and shiny, use royal icing instead of the simple powdered sugar icing i’m using here. royal icing is made with egg whites or meringue powder and dries completely hard.

• you can store these chubby gingerbread men cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

• you can make the gingerbread men dough up to 3 days ahead of time and keep it wrapped in the fridge until you’re ready to shape and bake.

• these gingerbread men biscuits are perfect for decorating with kids. set up a decorating station with gingerbread men frosting, candies, and sprinkles and let everyone create their own characters!

frequently asked questions

1. what do gingerbread men taste like ?

   – these gingerbread men cookies taste warm and spicy with prominent flavours of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves balanced by the sweetness of molasses and brown sugar. they have a cozy, festive flavour that’s perfect for christmas baking.

2. can i use salted butter to make these chubby gingerbread men cookies ?

   – yes, you can use salted butter instead of unsalted butter. if you do use salted butter for your gingerbread men instead of unsalted, just skip the extra 1/4 tsp of salt stated in the recipe.

3. do i have to use vanilla extract to make these chubby gingerbread men cookies ?

   – the vanilla extract in this gingerbread men cookie recipe is optional. i like the subtle vanilla flavour it gives to the cookie dough and the icing, but if you would prefer not to use it or don’t have it, that’s also completely fine.

4. can i make these chubby gingerbread men cookies without brown sugar ?

   – the brown sugar in these gingerbread men cookies gives them some extra flavour and chewiness. brown sugar adds colour, moisture and that rich molasses flavour, so i’d really recommend using it. i did use dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar is also completely fine.

5. are these chubby gingerbread men egg free ?

   – this chubby gingerbread men cookie recipe requires 1 large egg.

6. can i make these gingerbread men cookies without molasses ?

   – molasses is key for that classic gingerbread flavour. however, you can also make these gingerbread men with treacle or golden syrup. golden syrup will give these cookies a milder, sweeter flavour, while treacle will give a similar deep, bittersweet taste similar to molasses.

7. why did my gingerbread men cookies not spread ?

   – one of the reasons why your cookies didn’t spread might be due to your oven temperatures being too low. make sure to preheat your oven 15-20 minutes before adding your cookies in so that the oven is hot enough.

8. do i have to chill the dough to make these chubby gingerbread men cookies?

   – yes, it is necessary to chill the dough when making these gingerbread men cookies. the gingerbread cookie dough is quite sticky when you first mix it, so it will be very difficult to shape without chilling it. letting it chill in the fridge will help firm it up so that it’s easier to handle and portion out and assemble the gingerbread men. it will also help enhance the flavours and prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. do not skip the chilling!

9. do i have to freeze the assembled gingerbread men cookies before baking them ?

   – yes, freezing the gingerbread men before baking is crucial! freezing helps the individual balls hold their shape during the first few minutes of baking. this ensures they stay as distinct body parts that merge together, rather than immediately spreading into one indistinct blob. it’s the key to getting that chubby gingerbread men shape! if you skip the freezing, the dough balls will just merge into one big blob in the oven.

10. can i make these gingerbread men cookies ahead of time?

    – i’d recommend making the dough ahead of time and making the assembled gingerbread men ahead of time and freezing them if you’d like to prep in advance. you can just take them out of the freezer and bake them on the day – just be aware that you might need to add a few minutes to the baking time if you do this.

11. can i make these gingerbread men mini instead of big ?

    – yes! to. make these gingerbread men mini, you can use smaller dough balls – about half the size suggested in the recipe. just make sure that there’s 6 dough balls for each gingerbread man and reduce the baking time because smaller gingerbread men will take less time to bake.

12. what are some gingerbread men decoration ideas ?

    – classic gingerbread men decorations include piping white icing on the gingerbread men to make faces, buttons, and clothing details. if you want to get a little more creative, you can use chocolate chips or raisins for gingerbread men eyes, coloured candies for buttons, and also get creative with icing patterns for scarves, hats, or clothing. you can also use coloured icing, sprinkles, or mini chocolate chips.

13. can i leave these gingerbread men undecorated ?

    – absolutely! the gingerbread men cookies are also delicious on their own without any decorations.

recipe