Mini Gingerbread Men (& Women!)
These mini gingerbread men and women cookies aren’t only buttery, warmly spiced, and easy to make, they’re just absolutely freaking adorable, too.
I love these mini gingerbread cookies on Christmas cookie platters, with lattes, or stand them up next to your next gingerbread house! You don’t want it to sit unoccupied, after all.
Table of Contents
How to Make Mini Gingerbread Men (and Women!)
Jump to the Full, Printable Recipe
The Story Behind the Recipe
I first decided to make this simple gingerbread cookies recipe because I wanted an adorable decoration for my gingerbread latte recipe (coming soon!) I soon realized, though, that these easy gingerbread cut-out cookies stand up all on their own. Literally, if you prop them up just right – because they have wee little cookie feet!
For the recipe, I used one I already have – my simple gingerbread trees recipe is one that I love to make this time of year. It’s an easy, simple gingerbread cookies recipe and it was perfect for these mini gingerbread cookies, too.
I decided to be an equal opportunity Christmas baker and make mini gingerbread men AND women. Besides, the skirts (and bows!) are so extra cute!
Ingredients
For the mini gingerbread men:
Butter – I like to use unsalted butter for my recipes so that I can better control the salt content. Salted butter is delicious! But different brands have different salt levels.
Sugar – Plain old granulated sugar.
Egg – Just one
Molasses – The type of molasses is important. You want dark molasses, but NOT blackstrap, which is way too strong tasting.
Flour – I like to use plain all-purpose flour, but whole wheat flour would work, too.
Baking soda – To give the cookies a bit of lift and structure.
Spices – Ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves.
Salt – I prefer to use fine grain sea salt in my baking vs. kosher salt, because the larger crystals of salt can be jarring in baked goods (in my opinion! kosher is totally fine if you prefer it!)
For the icing:
Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar. You’ll want to sift it to make sure there aren’t any lumps.
Milk – Any old milk – dairy, oat, almond, etc. – will do.
Light corn syrup – This ingredient is important because it helps the frosting drizzle on and then harden.
Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract gives the icing a bit of flavor.
Adaptations/Variations
Standard gingerbread cookies – This dough is a nice versatile gingerbread cookie dough and can be made into any shape. You may just need to cook them for a bit longer than the mini version.
Cardamom gingerbread cookies – Add 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom with the rest of the spices.
How to Make Mini Gingerbread Men (and Women!)
First, you’ll whip up the dough. Give yourself lots of time, because it will need to chill for awhile before you can roll it out and bake it.
To make the dough, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Then, add the egg and molasses and blend well.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
At this point, you’ll want to press the dough together into a disk and cover it tightly in plastic wrap. Chill it for at least an hour, or up to three days in advance.
When you’re ready to bake your mini gingerbread men, pull the dough out of the fridge and work with it 1/4 section at a time. Roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out the shapes.
Place them on the baking sheet an inch or two apart, and bake! They’re done when they’re a bit firm and slightly golden around the edges.
Pull them out of the oven and let them cool completely. Mix up your icing and pipe it on. I like to make extra happy faces, buttons, squiggles to mark the arms and legs, and a nice little bow for the ladies.
Tip for Success
You’ll want 2″ – 3″ cookie cutters. I like the smallest cookie cutters in this gingerbread cookie cutter set for my mini gingerbread cookies (affiliate link).
I hope you love these mini gingerbread men (and women!) as much as I do! I think they’re such fun little cookies to make and it’s so nice to have an easy two- or three-bite holiday cookie for Christmas treat platters.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Sparkly Chocolate Snickerdoodles
Mini Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature* 2 sticks3/4 cup granulated sugar1 large egg1/4 cup molasses not blackstrap2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon ground ginger1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ground cloves1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
Icing:
3 cups powdered sugar sifted2-3 tablespoons milk2 tablespoons light corn syrup1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Nutrition
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