Easy Gingerbread Men Cookie Recipe - Momdot.com (2024)

FAQs

Why are my gingerbread men so hard? ›

“There are some gingerbread recipes that are hard right after baking and need to sit for a few days to soften. Molasses and honey hardens gingerbread, but as the sugar absorbs moisture, it will get softer.”

Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft? Soft gingerbread biscuits are ideal. They ought to be flexible. However, they should still be somewhat elastic, and if you hold them too firmly because you're so excited to eat them, you might even be able to leave your fingerprints on the cookie!

From doubling up on molasses to using too much flour, there is a lot that can go wrong. Forgetting the molasses resulted in a crumbly cookie that was light in color. Combining all ingredients at once created lumps in the finished product.

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But one unexpected error bakers can make is adding too much of a good thing, butter. Although butter generally makes it all better, bakers who go overboard with it are dooming their cookies to a greasy and crumbly texture.

Gingerbread Cookies are done when they are set and begin to brown slightly at the edges. They will harden further as they cool, so avoid overbaking so you don't end up with hard, crunchy gingerbread!

The Best Molasses Substitutes

Honey, dark corn syrup, and maple syrup can also be used to replace molasses in recipes.

“It gives all the 'baking holiday cookies with grandma' vibes.” In a pinch, you can substitute maple syrup for light molasses, which may also be listed as “sweet,” “first,” “mild,” or “Barbados” molasses. The light variety might be your best bet for a chewier gingerbread, according to Melanie Bourdon, a chef and baker.

Are there any substitutes for molasses? It won't taste exactly the same, but maple syrup can work in a pinch.

In the United States, molasses takes the spotlight as the sugar source for gingerbread man cookies. The deep, caramel-like sweetness of molasses pairs perfectly with the warm spices of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, creating the iconic flavor profile of these classic treats.

Why refrigerate gingerbread cookie dough? ›

Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies. "The colder and more solid the fat is, the less the cookie will spread," says food stylist and recipe developer Caitlin Haught Brown.

Chilling it for at least two hours or overnight gives the ingredients a chance to absorb one another, making it a whole lot easier to roll out the dough without it cracking. Follow this tip: Let the dough chill in the refrigerator, well-wrapped, for at least two hours or overnight before rolling it out.

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Gingersnaps vs. Gingerbread. The main differences between gingerbread and gingersnaps are that ginger snaps bake for a longer period of time to get their crispiness–and gingerbread cookies are a little chewier (and almost always rolled out into different shapes like gingerbread men and other holiday figures).

What they should not be is hard. I won't even make a joke about hard gingerbread men (other than this one), but if your gingerbread cookies are hard, then you are doing things wrong.

Follow this tip: Use a combination of both molasses and dark brown sugar in your gingerbread cookie dough to ensure that they'll be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Gingerbread biscuits can be hard or soft, so if you want to make decorations, you'll need a recipe that will set hard and be very dry. The drier the biscuit is, the longer the icing will keep its original colour and stay hard. If the biscuits are soft, the icing will start to suck up moisture and colour over time.