These chubby gingerbread man cookies are the perfect alternative to make fun and festive cookies without a cookie cutter! The dough is a very easy to make, eggless gingerbread cookie that's then used to make little blobs for the gingerbread men. They look so dang cute and are a unique little twist to add to your gingerbread baking!
chubby gingerbread men
The inspiration behind these cookies was to create something fun, cute, and festive but without the need for cookie cutters. I didn't buy my first set of Christmassy cookie cutters until like 2 or so years ago, so we had to get REALLY creative with our shapes!
These chubby gingerbread men are honestly so cute, I barely even reach for my actual gingerbread man cookie cutter any more! They're made using just a bunch of little portions of dough that are shaped into balls and arranged in a little gingerbread man shape. It's the same idea as my flower shaped cookies!
The dough bakes up and sticks the pieces together but still keeps them looking bubbly and chubby! You can use icing to hide the seams and really complete the gingerbread cookie look or just leave them exposed for an extra bubbly gingerbread man.
how to make eggless gingerbread cookie dough
The cookie dough for these gingerbread cookies is super easy to whip up and is made without eggs, but it still has that classic soft and chewy texture. It's full of deliciously warm spices and molasses flavor and can also be used to roll and cut out shapes if you'd prefer! Here's a quick look at how to the dough is made:
- Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar.
- Whisk molasses and vanilla into the butter mixture.
- Fold the dry ingredients in to finish the dough.
That's all there is to it! The dough should be a little soft but still very easy to work with. But if you do find it's sticking to your fingers, set it in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes or until it's firm enough for your to comfortably work with it.
When it comes to shaping the gingerbread men, you can make them whatever size you'd like - just keep in mind that smaller cookies will bake faster and larger cookies will need more time in the oven.
how to shape the chubby gingerbread men
I find it's easiest to portion out the dough using different sized measuring spoons. You'll need a 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, and a ½ teaspoon measure. For each gingerbread man, use the 1 tablespoon to scoop out (1) portion for the body, the 1 teaspoon to scoop out (1) portion for the head, and the ½ teaspoon to scoop out (4) portions for the legs and arms.
Roll each portion of dough between your hands to smoothen into a smooth ball. Next, arrange the portions in the shape of a gingerbread man on a parchment lined baking sheet. Give it a little squish to push the pieces together and repeat until all the gingerbread men are assembled.
Once the gingerbread men are put together, I like to chill the dough in the freezer until it feels firm to the touch just to make sure they don't overspread and lose their bubbly shape. After that chill, they're ready to be baked!
tips
- Measuring the flour: For the cookies to spread properly and bake up into the perfect texture, watch out for over measured flour! It can make the cookies overly dry and crumbly and taste floury. It's always best and most accurate to measure flour by weight - but if you'd prefer to use cups, lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup then use a flat utensil to level it off. Don't scoop the measuring cup directly into the flour or this will pack in more weight worth of flour.
- Room temperature butter: For the cookie dough to whip up smoothly, make sure to give the butter enough time to come up to room temperature. It will also help ensure the cookies don't overspread!
- Sizing the gingerbread men: You can make the gingerbread men slightly smaller or slightly larger if you'd like, but I wouldn't recommend making them too big or they may not cook through properly and might taste doughy.
- Cooling the cookies: These cookies need to cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet to allow them to firm up enough to move without breaking off any pieces. They are going to be fragile while they're warm, so when you do move them off the baking sheet, try to be careful! I also really recommend using a flexible turner or wide spatula to more easily lift and transfer them.
- Decorating: Once the cookies are on the wire rack, set them aside to cool completely before decorating them. If the cookies are warm, the icing will melt all over the place!
storage
Keep the gingerbread cookies stored in an airtight container or plastic bag to protect them from air and keep them soft. The cookies are quite good at holding together once they're cooled, but I would recommend storing the cookies in a single, flat layer to ensure none of the pieces fall off. These cookies will keep for about 1 week at room temperature.
check out these other recipes!
• Gingerbread Cake
• Gingerbread Cookie Bars
• Chewy Gingerbread Sprinkle Cookies
• Caramel Gingerbread Cake
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
Print
Chubby Gingerbread Man Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies
Description
These chubby gingerbread men are the perfect alternative to make fun and festive cookies without a cookie cutter! The dough is a very easy to make, eggless gingerbread cookie that's then used to make little blobs for the gingerbread men. They look so dang cute and are a unique little twist to add to your gingerbread baking!
Ingredients
For the gingerbread man cookies:
- 1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground all-spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup (60mL) unsulphered molasses
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For decorating:
- ½ cup (65g) powdered sugar
- ½ tablespoon heavy cream or milk*
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, all-spice, cloves, and salt to combine. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Whisk in the molasses and vanilla to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and fold together until you have a streak free cookie dough. The dough should be easy to work with as is, but if it's too sticky, pop it into the fridge for 15-20 minutes to make it easier to work with.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Portion the dough into little balls for the gingerbread men. You'll need (1) 1 tablespoon sized portion of dough for the gingerbread man's body, (1) 1 teaspoon sized portion for the head, and (4) ½ teaspoon sized portions for the legs and arms for each gingerbread man. Roll each portion into a smooth ball between your hands.
- Arrange the balls of dough in the shape of a gingerbread man on your parchment lined baking sheet (see above post for visual). Lightly squish the pieces together so they're touching - they'll puff up a bit and stick to each other properly as they bake. Make sure to leave at least 2 inches of space on the baking sheet between each gingerbread man.
- Place the gingerbread men into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes or until they feel solid.
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Bake the cookies in the center of your preheated oven for 13 to 17 minutes or until puffed, the surface no longer appears shiny, and the bottoms of the cookies are slightly darker brown.
- Cool the cookies for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet then carefully move them onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely to room temperature before decorating.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and heavy cream until you have a thick icing. If it's too thick, you can thin it with a splash more heavy cream. If it's too thin, mix in more powdered sugar.
- Use the icing to decorate the gingerbread men however you like then serve!
Notes
* I like to use heavy cream for the icing just because it's thicker and whiter, resulting in a more opaque icing. You could also use milk or water if you prefer, but the icing will appear slightly less bright white.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Bake Time: 13 minutes
- Category: Cookies
Enjoy!
Mary says
These chubby gingerbread cookies are adorable!🥰 The recipe was easy to follow & they turned out so good! I loved decorating/designing them. I will make them again!