The Most Flavorful Gingerbread Man You'll Ever Have

These Gingerbread Men are the ultimate Christmas cookies! This recipe yields soft, yet firm gingerbread cookies that are perfectly spiced, buttery, and hold their shape beautifully. Top them off with a foolproof icing that makes plenty for decorating, and you've got yourself a fun holiday activity for the whole family.

Recipe: https://sugarspunrun.com/gingerbread-...

Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
½ cup light or dark brown sugar, tightly packed (100g)
½ cup unsulphured molasses (120ml) (I use "Grandma's" brand)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour (315g)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For Icing:
3 cups powdered sugar sifted (375g)
2-4 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Decorative candies and sprinkles as desired

Instructions
00:00 Introduction
For Gingerbread Men:
00:23 Using a stand mixer or electric mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat until well-creamed.
00:41 Add molasses and beat until combined (mixture may look piece-y, this is OK).
01:01 Stir in egg and vanilla extract.
01:27 In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
01:59 With mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients to wet until completely combined.
02:18 Scrape dough roughly into a ball (it will be sticky, use a spatula), wrap completely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
03:17 Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 375F (175C).
03:37 Generously flour a clean surface and lightly flour the dough as well (see note).
03:45 Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to ¼” thickness, and use a cookie cutter (my cookie cutter for these was about 3.5” long) to cut out shapes. 0 Transfer to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet (or an ungreased cookie sheet), transfer to 375F oven, and bake for 8-10 minutes.
05:04 Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for at least 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
Once cookies have cooled, prepare frosting and decorate.
Gingerbread Men Icing
05:13 Combine sugar, 2 Tablespoons of milk, corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl and stir until combined. If frosting is too thick, add more milk, about a teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is thick but pipeable. If you accidentally add too much milk, add powdered sugar until desired texture is reached.
06:57 Transfer to a piping bag with a piping tip (I used Wilton #5), or place in a Ziploc bag and snip a small piece of the corner off (not as neat, but this will still work, just take care that the frosting isn’t so thick that it breaks open the seam of the bag when you are squeezing).
07:17 Pipe frosting on cookies and decorate with decorative candies, if desired.
07:51 Allow frosting to harden before enjoying (this took only about 30 minutes for me, but may take longer if your frosting is wetter)
Keep uneaten cookies sealed in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes
Flour
Don't be afraid to add flour as needed. Generously dust your surface so the cookies don't stick, and if the dough still seems sticky while rolling dust the dough and rolling pin with additional flour as needed. This is a softer dough by nature but it should not be so sticky that it isn't manageable.

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