These chubby gingerbread man cookies are as delicious as they are cute! Soft and full of holiday spices, these cookies are fun to make with kids.
You might also like my cutout iced gingerbread man cookies, soft gingerbread cookie bars, or Pop Tart gingerbread house.
Mini gingerbread man cookies are cute, but CHUBBY gingerbread man cookies take things up a notch on the holiday cookie scale. As an added bonus, you don't even need a cookie-cutter to make them. They are made the same way as my chubby snowman cookies and teddy bear gingerbread cookies!
Why I Like This Recipe
- Flavorful. Loaded with spices, molasses, and red hots buttons, they are full of holiday spice flavor.
- No cookie cutter needed. The fun shapes are made by rolling balls of dough into various sizes, then pressing them together.
- Easy to decorate. I kept mine simple with icing and cinnamon candies, but you can decorate them however you'd like!
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Tips and Tricks
- Chill the dough. This is a slightly sticky dough, so giving it a quick 25-30 minutes makes the dough easier to scoop and roll. I also lightly flour my hands when rolling the dough into balls.
- Let cool on baking sheets. The cookies are quite soft when warm, and gingerbread cookies are best eaten cold anyway — the flavors are much stronger! Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet when they come out of the oven.
- Store in an airtight container. These chubby cookies are soft and will stay soft for several days if stored in an airtight container.
Ingredients
- Sugar: I typically use a combination of brown sugar and white sugar in my cookies, but for gingerbread cookies it's white sugar all the way.
- Molasses: regular molassses, nothing fancy.
- Butter: I always bake with salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. The original recipe calls for lard or shortening. I like butter for these, but you can use whatever you'd like. If using shortening, you may not need to freeze the cookies on baking sheets before baking.
- Water: you'll need hot water for this recipe. Hot tap water works fine, no need to use boiling water.
- Egg: for richness and texture.
- Baking Soda and Salt: for leavening and flavor.
- Ground Ginger, Ground Cinnamon and Ground Cloves: my favorite blend of spices for gingerbread cookies.
- Flour
- Candy or sprinkles: I use cinnamon candies for the buttons. You can use a mini M&M, frosting, or sprinkles.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Chubby Gingerbread Man Cookies
Step 1: Combine sugar, molasses, and softened butter. Mix until smooth. Add hot water and mix.
Step 2: Mix in the egg. Add dry ingredients and mix until dough forms. Cover the dough with plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Roll a tablespoon-sized scoop of dough into a ball. Use this for the body.
Step 4: Roll a tablespoon-sized scoop of dough into a ball. Break in half and roll each piece into a ball. Use the smaller ball for the head.
Step 5: Roll a tablespoon-sized scoop of dough into a ball. Break into 8 small sections. Roll each section into balls. Use these small balls for the hands and feet.
Step 6: Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. Decorate cooled cookies with icing and candy.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Chubby Gingerbread Man Cookies FAQs
I bake on aluminum baking sheets. The light colored sheet (vs. dark metal sheets) bake more evenly. I like these ones (with almost 40K reviews) as well as the ones sold at Sam’s Club. The darker the cookie sheet, the faster the cookies will brown on the bottoms. It’s all personal preference, but light colored baking sheets have always given me great results.
I use regular molasses, which is a great all-around choice for baking. The brand I usually grab at the store is Grandma’s. You don’t want blackstrap molasses, which has a bitter flavor.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
More Holiday Cookies To Make
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Chubby Gingerbread Man Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup butter softened
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. hot water
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- red hot candies
Icing
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine sugar, molasses, and softened butter. Mix until smooth. Add hot water and mix.
- Mix in the egg. Add dry ingredients and mix until dough forms. Chill the dough for 25-30 minutes.
- Roll a tablespoon-sized scoop of dough into a ball. Use this for the body. If the dough is still a little sticky, add a bit of flour to your hands.
- Roll a tablespoon-sized scoop of dough into a ball. Break in half and roll each piece into a ball. Use the smaller balls for the heads.
- Roll a tablespoon-sized scoop of dough into a ball. Break into 8 small sections. Roll each section into balls. Use these small balls for the hands and feet.
- Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheet to set up.
- Mix powdered sugar with just enough milk to make a stiff icing for piping onto the cookies.Decorate with icing, sprinkles, or candy.
Brandy says
I sent these with my daughter to high school to share with friends at lunch! They are so soft and yummy and fun for kids of all ages.