Old Fashioned Iced Gingerbread Man Cookies

Nauvoo Illinois is a very niche town, best known for its rich Mormon pioneer heritage. If you are from the East Coast and know anything about Colonial Williamsburg, Nauvoo is its Mormon equivalent. Originally opening its doors in the 1840's, the Scovil Bakery sold baked goods made by the women in town, but nowadays it is a Nauvoo historical site that visitors can tour. Some say that this recipe for gingerbread cookies dates back to the original bakery, but it could also simply be one they've shared with tours for the past several decades. Either way, it's yummy and makes the best gingerbread cookies.

Why I Like This Recipe

• Tried and true recipe. The Nauvoo Mercantile graciously shared the original recipe. I adapted the recipe to make these cute iced gingerbread men and hope you enjoy them as much as we do! The original recipe calls for lard. I make mine with butter, use more ground ginger, and add ground cloves. I also ice my cookies in a 2-ingredient icing that hardens onto each cookie. I got the idea to dip them in icing from Jill's Cookie Magic on Instagram. It really takes them up a notch!
• Great recipe for bulk baking. This recipe makes a lot of cookies, which is perfect for the holidays. If you like making cookie platters to share or are heading to a cookie exchange, this is the recipe to make. I used a small cookie cutter and ended up with quite a few cookies, but if you use a larger cookie cutter, it will make fewer.
• Cookies stay fresh. Gingerbread cookies stay fresh for up to a week (I think they taste BETTER on day 2!) and freeze well.

What Others Are Saying

I made these today! They are soo good! And I used lard as you said the original recipe called for lard! I can't believe how yummy they truly are! I put a little lemon extract in my icing. Thank you for the recipe.---@Mizzcookie_64 on Instagram

I made ¼ recipe and I used lard instead of butter. And I add a little lemon extract in my glaze. these are soo good!---Shawn on Facebook

Tips and Tricks

• Chill the dough. The dough needs to chill for an hour or so, but it's worth the wait! If you'd like a quicker gingerbread cookie dough, you can try this recipe that only needs to chill for 15 minutes.
• Rustic coat of icing. Dip each cookie into icing, then smooth the tops of the cookies with a small spatula or butter knife (watch my video to see how I do this). It's ok if the icing drops off the sides a little. These are meant to be imperfect. The icing will harden onto each cookie in a thin layer.
• Gift idea. I keep these cute bakery boxes on hand at all times. You can fit at least 50 itty bitty gingerbread men in a box and tie it with a red ribbon (here is a smaller version that would be perfect for gift giving, too!). A classic holiday treat to share with friends.

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 prefer butter, but you can use whatever you'd like.
• Water: you'll need hot water for this recipe. Hot tap water works fine, no need to use boiling water.
• Eggs: 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. The original recipe doesn't call for cloves and only calls for a teaspoon of ginger.
• Flour: I use 6 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, but the original recipe calls for 4 cups of all-purpose flour and 2 cups of whole wheat flour.
• Powdered Sugar and Milk: These are mixed together to make the icing.
  

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Iced Gingerbread Man Cookies

Step 1: Combine sugar, molasses, and softened butter. Mix until smooth. Add hot water and mix. Mix in eggs.

Step 2: Add dry ingredients and mix until dough forms.

Step 3: Divide the dough into two sections. Wrap each section in plastic and refrigerate for 60-90 minutes.

Step 4: Roll each section of dough ¼" thick and cut with cookie cutters. I used a 1 ½-2" cookie cutter.

Place cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Step 5: Bake for 7-8 minutes for soft cookies and 9-10 minutes for crunchier cookies. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets.

Step 6: Mix powdered sugar and milk together to make the icing.

Dip each cookie into icing then smooth the tops of the cookies with a small spatula or butter knife (watch my video to see how I do this). It's ok if the icing drops off the sides a little. These are meant to imperfect. The icing will harden onto each cookie in a thin layer.

Place the cookies back onto the baking sheet to dry.

Gingerbread cookies stay fresh longer than your basic chocolate chip cookie. You can store them in an airtight container for a week and in the freezer up to six months!

Gingerbread Man Cookies FAQs

More Gingerbread Recipes To Make

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