These mini gingerbread men and women cookies aren’t only buttery, warmly spiced, and easy to make, they’re just absolutely freaking adorable, too.
I love these mini gingerbread cookies on Christmas cookie platters, with lattes, or stand them up next to your next gingerbread house! You don’t want it to sit unoccupied, after all.
Table of Contents
- The Story Behind the Recipe
- Ingredients
- Adaptations/Variations
- How to Make Mini Gingerbread Men (and Women!)
- Tip for Success
- More Christmas Cookie Recipes
The Story Behind the Recipe
I first decided to make this simple gingerbread cookies recipe because I wanted an adorable decoration for my gingerbread latte recipe (coming soon!) I soon realized, though, that these easy gingerbread cut-out cookies stand up all on their own. Literally, if you prop them up just right – because they have wee little cookie feet!
For the recipe, I used one I already have – my simple gingerbread trees recipe is one that I love to make this time of year. It’s an easy, simple gingerbread cookies recipe and it was perfect for these mini gingerbread cookies, too.
I decided to be an equal opportunity Christmas baker and make mini gingerbread men AND women. Besides, the skirts (and bows!) are so extra cute!
Ingredients
For the mini gingerbread men:
- Butter – I like to use unsalted butter for my recipes so that I can better control the salt content. Salted butter is delicious! But different brands have different salt levels.
- Sugar – Plain old granulated sugar.
- Egg – Just one
- Molasses – The type of molasses is important. You want dark molasses, but NOT blackstrap, which is way too strong tasting.
- Flour – I like to use plain all-purpose flour, but whole wheat flour would work, too.
- Baking soda – To give the cookies a bit of lift and structure.
- Spices – Ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves.
- Salt – I prefer to use fine grain sea salt in my baking vs. kosher salt, because the larger crystals of salt can be jarring in baked goods (in my opinion! kosher is totally fine if you prefer it!)
For the icing:
- Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar. You’ll want to sift it to make sure there aren’t any lumps.
- Milk – Any old milk – dairy, oat, almond, etc. – will do.
- Light corn syrup – This ingredient is important because it helps the frosting drizzle on and then harden.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract gives the icing a bit of flavor.
Adaptations/Variations
- Standard gingerbread cookies – This dough is a nice versatile gingerbread cookie dough and can be made into any shape. You may just need to cook them for a bit longer than the mini version.
- Cardamom gingerbread cookies – Add 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom with the rest of the spices.
How to Make Mini Gingerbread Men (and Women!)
First, you’ll whip up the dough. Give yourself lots of time, because it will need to chill for awhile before you can roll it out and bake it.
To make the dough, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Then, add the egg and molasses and blend well.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
At this point, you’ll want to press the dough together into a disk and cover it tightly in plastic wrap. Chill it for at least an hour, or up to three days in advance.
When you’re ready to bake your mini gingerbread men, pull the dough out of the fridge and work with it 1/4 section at a time. Roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out the shapes.
Place them on the baking sheet an inch or two apart, and bake! They’re done when they’re a bit firm and slightly golden around the edges.
Pull them out of the oven and let them cool completely. Mix up your icing and pipe it on. I like to make extra happy faces, buttons, squiggles to mark the arms and legs, and a nice little bow for the ladies.
Tip for Success
- You’ll want 2″ – 3″ cookie cutters. I like the smallest cookie cutters in this gingerbread cookie cutter set for my mini gingerbread cookies (affiliate link).
I hope you love these mini gingerbread men (and women!) as much as I do! I think they’re such fun little cookies to make and it’s so nice to have an easy two- or three-bite holiday cookie for Christmas treat platters.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- Sparkly Chocolate Snickerdoodles
Mini Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature* (2 sticks)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
Icing:
- 3 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a stand mixer or a large bowl (with a hand mixer), beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about three minutes.
- Add the egg and molasses and beat until blended, scraping down sides as necessary.
- To a separate medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Mix together.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat just until combined.
- Press the dough together and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour, or up to three days.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove disc from fridge and cut into fourths.
- Roll each piece about 1/4 inch thick. You may need to let the dough warm up just a bit, and, depending on your surface, you may need some additional flour to prevent sticking.
- Use small gingerbread cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Roll out the scraps and cut a few more out. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 7-8 minutes, until they're firm and just starting to get golden at edges. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the icing. Add the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, corn syrup, and vanilla to a small bowl. Use a wire whisk to mix it well. If it's too thick, add more milk a teaspoon at a time. You want the icing to be thin enough to be pipeable but thick enough to hold a line. Scoop the icing into a piping bag with piping tip or a Ziploc bag with the end snipped off, and pipe the icing onto the cookies.
- Let sit until icing hardens before storing or assembling on cookie plates. Cookies keep up to one week in an airtight container.
Hi! I’m Karen – I’m a real person with real recipes. No A.I. here! Since 2009, every recipe on Kitchen Treaty is thoroughly tested and loved before I hit “publish.” I’m a home cook, certified plant-based pro, and mom. I’m a vegetarian married to a carnivore, and my goal is to coexist deliciously.
