Gingerbread Men!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details!*
A chewy & crunchy Christmassy biscuit that everyone will love to bake & decorate!
Christmas recipes
I have been asking on my Facebook page recently what sort of Christmas themed recipes everyone wanted and this was 100% one of them – like so many people asked for it, I couldn’t not bake it – GINGERBREAD MEN!
The only other Christmassy biscuits I have on my blog already are my white chocolate & cranberry cookies and my chocolate orange cookies and others – and don’t get me wrong, both of these are delicious – however, they aren’t gingerbread men.
Gingerbread
I have had my troubles with gingerbread over the years strangely enough, even if it seems like one of the most common Christmas bakes.
I have tried other recipes and they have all gone so wrong – spreading so much they form a giant cookie, or being so crunchy I feel like my teeth will break – this recipe though, its the perfect mix of crunchy & chewy, and they don’t spread! The men actually still look like men when they come out of the oven!
But anyway, this recipe honestly is my go-to gingerbread biscuit recipe, I have never failed with it since I developed the recipe and it has been a massive hit with all of my taste testers over time. I find it’s the perfect mix of all things spicy, and the biscuit is both crunchy and chewy at the same time which is what I am after in a gingerbread biscuit.
A classic
Yes, I realise you are supposed to call these gingerbread biscuits, or gingerbread people these days, but I stuck with the classic name. Also, the cookie cutters I have used for years are some my granny had, and the ‘female’ one was lost a long time ago… Needless to say, I could have just bought more, but I wanted to stick to traditions in my festive baking ways.
Other gingerbread recipes
I updated the photos for this post but the recipe has stayed the same. It’s not something I personally want to mess with any time soon! This sorta recipe is the perfect bake to top and decorate the gingerbread drip cake recipe I have, and my Christmas gingerbread cake recipe!
A must try recipe
I get several messages every year about what my favourite gingerbread biscuit recipe is and have I got anything to save the bakers from every other recipe they have tried, and this one is the solution. That is not meant to sound bigheaded in any way, but I honestly have never had any issues with this recipe in the entire time I have baked it.
Tradition
As I write this, its the day before the 30th of November, so all I can think about is how its ‘officially’ the festive season starting tomorrow, and how I can start munching on my advent calendars tomorrow.
Every year, I bake gingerbread men to munch on, and they last a good while as well. One of the best tricks? Making a gingerbread hot chocolate and dunking *several* biscuits into the drink whilst decorating the house.
Gingerbread is one of the simplest, but best festive bakes around. There is the occasional person out there that doesn’t like gingerbread, which is fair enough, but you can easily play around with the levels of spices to suit your personal tastes. I like my biscuits to be really ‘gingery’ but my brother prefers them to have a bit more spice from cinnamon in.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Enjoy! X
Gingerbread Men!
Ingredients
- 375 g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 3 tsps ground ginger
- 120 g unsalted butter (cold & cubed)
- 175 g light brown sugar
- 5 tbsps golden syrup
- 1 medium egg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190C/180C Fan and line 3-4 baking trays with parchment paper (or do it in two batches if you only have two trays!)
- Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and ginger to a large bowl and add the cold, cubed butter to the bowl
- Rub together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs! (Or mix the four ingredients in a food processor till its breadcrumbs!)
- Mix the sugar into the mix and combine, and then add the golden syrup and egg - beat with a spatula/your hands until it is a smooth dough.
- Knead the biscuit dough, and then roll the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Roll it out to 1/2cm thickness and cut out your desired shapes! I did gingerbread men, snowmen, and Christmas trees!
- Place them on the lined baking trays and bake in the oven for 10-11 minutes, cool on a wire rack fully, and then decorate how you please!
Notes
- I like my biscuits very gingery otherwise it just doesn’t float my boat, but feel free to use less! (Or even a different spice – like cinnamon!)
- These biscuits will last for about a week in an airtight container, if they last that long!
- It's best to decorate with things such as sweets, chocolate, or royal icing!
- I don't chill my dough before baking.
- You can add in 1/2tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice if you prefer it spicier!
Find my other recipes on my Recipes Page!
You can find me on:
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Youtube
J x
© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.
thanks for sharing recipe! these turned out really well, even though i was using a dairy free spread instead of butter (i put them in the fridge for over 30mins before baking). As people have stated, the are a perfect balance between snap and softness. I’m less keen on ginger so used 2.5 teaspoons and the put in 0.5teaspoon of cinnamon instead. Thanks again!
First time making gingerbread and these turned out great! Not very gingery though I’m wondering if it should have been 3 table spoons of ginger not tea spoons? Either way will make these again closer to Christmas to give out to family
No the measurements are correct, but spice is definitely personal taste – if you want them more gingery then you can add more!! x
Just made these – they are the best gingerbread biscuits I have ever made! And I have tried scores of recipes over the years!! Super quick and easy to make and bake, crunchy on the outside with a hint of chewiness right in the centre – not too “bready” like past efforts. 10/10. Perfect 😁🎄😁
Makes the best Gingerbread!! Thank you Jane
Hi! I was wondering whether the golden syrup could be replaced with honey.
I haven’t tried this I am afraid!
I have just made a batch and replaced the golden syrup with honey as we didn’t have syrup, and they are just as good!!
Made this with my 3 year old she loved it. Such a easy recipe to follow. I used 2 teaspoons of ginger as children were eating it, and there was a lovely flavour. My little girls thinks Father Christmas would love these so we are making a batch on Christmas Eve for him
I made these last week and they were such a success, I’m so delighted to have found your blog….my waist maybe not so much😆😆
Currently my favourite thing to bake! So quick and easy and taste amazing!!
Made these via zoom with my university baking society and the Tennis Club, was a great recipe to get the guys from Tennis Club involved as they’re really straightforward with no particularly fancy equipment needed. Really pleased with how they turned out- everyone managed to make them with no problem.
So good and make incredible fluffy light but a lite chewy men and great for being decorated and like how you can alter the recipe to the amount you want to make which helps if you use a big cutter. Very good and festive at this time and so easy!
I swapped butter for coconut oil, added a tablespoon of cocoa powder and added many more spices. The dough is quite crumbly and quite fatty (barely needed any flour for powdering!). I was worried about them keeping shape, so I refrigerated the cut out biscuits before baking for just a couple of minutes. Result – fabulous!
Tasty and the right combo of soft and crunchy. Now to try them with some cinnamon 🙂
Hi, I made these last week and I’m wondering what I did wrong? I made two batches. One I chilled and one I didnt but both batches spread in the oven so they lost their shape a bit. Is there anything I can do to avoid this, or even lessen it? They did however taste amazing. Thanks
What butter did you use? And how did you measure the syrup? Sometimes I find these two factors can cause a problem if they are incorrect! I don’t chill my dough really but it also maybe that your oven isn’t hot enough!
Hi Jane I’m a huge fan of your blog and recipes always work out. Which means I’ve done something wrong he very strange never had an issue before. My gingerbread are huge and expanding and merged into each other would that be do much bi card do you think? I used a teaspoon measuring spoon so confused but can’t think what else it was I definitely used plain flour too.
Many thanks
Sarah
What butter did you use? And how did you measure the syrup? Sometimes I find these two factors can cause a problem if they are incorrect but it can also be over measured bicarb!
Hi Jane, I’m about to use your recipe for the first time this Christmas, I’m really excited about trying it 😄 if I put them in cellophane bags for the Christmas tree how long do they stay edible for? Have you ever tried this? Thanks, Tracey x
I usually say they are all good for at least two weeks – it depends on what you decorate them with, but easily a couple weeks! x