These chubby gingerbread man cookies are soft, warmly spiced, and as delicious as they are cute! Instead of rolling out the dough and using a traditional gingerbread man cookie cutter, you shape the cookies from balls of dough to create their adorable chubby bodies.
If you're planning a holiday baking day, don't miss my 40 Christmas Cookie Recipes for more classic and festive cookies to add to your Christmas cookie trays.
These gingerbread cookies are made with molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, then decorated with simple icing and cinnamon candies. They're especially fun to make with kids because there's no rolling pin or cookie cutter required.
If you love classic gingerbread cookies but want something a little more playful, these chubby gingerbread men are such a fun Christmas treat.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- No cookie cutter needed. The gingerbread men are created by rolling the dough into different-sized balls and pressing them together. It's much easier than rolling and cutting traditional gingerbread cookies.
- Soft and flavorful. These cookies are packed with molasses and warm gingerbread spices and stay soft for days when stored properly.
- Fun to make with kids. Kids can help roll the dough into balls and assemble the gingerbread men before baking.
- Easy to decorate. I kept mine simple with icing and cinnamon candies, but you can decorate them with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or colored frosting.
- A big, cute Christmas cookie. These are larger and thicker than traditional mini gingerbread men, which makes them stand out on a Christmas cookie tray.
What Others Are Saying
I just made these today and love them!!! My husband and kids love them too, they are really easy to make, just takes a little bit of time.---Abigail
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Tips and Tricks
- Chill the dough. This is a slightly sticky dough, so a quick 25–30 minute chill makes it much easier to scoop and shape. Lightly flour your hands when rolling the dough into balls if needed.
- Keep the shapes consistent. Try to make the body, head, hands, and feet similar in size from cookie to cookie. This helps them bake evenly and gives the gingerbread men a consistent appearance.
- Chill the shaped cookies if needed. If your dough feels especially soft or the shapes are losing their definition, place the assembled cookies in the refrigerator briefly before baking.
- Let the cookies cool completely. These gingerbread cookies are very soft when they first come out of the oven. Allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet before moving or decorating them.
- Use regular molasses. Regular molasses is best for these cookies. Avoid blackstrap molasses, which has a much stronger and more bitter flavor.
- Don't overbake. The cookies should be set but still soft when they come out of the oven. They'll continue to firm up as they cool.
What Makes These Gingerbread Men Different?
Traditional gingerbread men are usually made by rolling chilled dough flat and cutting out shapes with a gingerbread man cookie cutter.
These chubby gingerbread man cookies are made differently. Instead of rolling out the dough, you roll it into balls of different sizes and assemble the pieces directly on the baking sheet.
The result is a thick, round gingerbread man with a cute chubby shape. It's the same basic idea I use for my chubby snowman cookies and teddy bear gingerbread cookies.
This method is especially fun when baking with children because there are no complicated cookie-cutting steps.
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.
Decorating Ideas
I kept these cookies simple with icing and cinnamon candies, but there are lots of ways to decorate them.
- Classic gingerbread men. Use white icing to add faces, shirts, pants, and other details.
- Christmas colors. Use red, green, and white icing for a traditional Christmas look.
- Candy buttons. Replace the cinnamon candies with mini M&M's, colorful sprinkles, or small chocolate chips.
- Funny faces. Let the kids decorate each gingerbread man with different expressions.
- Simple and rustic. Skip the icing and use cinnamon candies for buttons. The cookies are cute even without elaborate decorations.
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.
No! That's one of the best things about this recipe. The gingerbread men are made entirely from balls of dough, so you don't need a cookie cutter or rolling pin.
The dough is slightly sticky, and chilling it for 25–30 minutes makes it easier to scoop and roll into balls. If you're using shortening instead of butter, the dough may not need as much chilling.
Yes. The original recipe can be made with lard or shortening. I prefer butter for the flavor, but shortening will work.
Chilling the dough helps. If the shaped cookies become soft while you're assembling them, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for a few minutes before baking.
Yes. Once completely cooled, place the cookies in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between the layers. Thaw them at room temperature before serving or decorating.
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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.
Notes
- Chill the dough for about 30 minutes before shaping.
- Lightly flour your hands if the dough feels sticky.
- Shape the cookies directly on the baking sheet.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- These cookies can be frozen for longer storage.
- Regular molasses works best; don't use blackstrap molasses.
- Have fun with the decorations! Cinnamon candies, sprinkles, mini M&M's, and icing all work well.
Abigail Wipf says
I just made these today and love them!!! My husband and kids love them too, they are really easy to make, just takes a little bit of time.
Brandy says
Love hearing this Abigail!
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.