Mini Gingerbread Men Cookies
Mini Gingerbread Men Cookies are a fantastic way to have fun in the kitchen with the kids for the Holidays! They are made with the usual spices and an extra orange touch.
These Mini Gingerbread Men Cookies are the ultimate Christmas bites to make with kids! However, beware—they are highly addictive! The mini size helps to contain the amount of sugar your kids consume. I don’t know about you, but after years of trying to decorate normal-sized gingerbread men’s cookies, I could never make them look as lovely as the pictures online. They always turn out less presentable but very devourable.
The smaller cookies will be more satisfying for the kids to decorate. I use basic icing and Christmas-coloured sprinkles for these, but if you have other sprinkles at home, go ahead and use whatever you’ve got! Or, if you don’t want to bother with the sprinkles, only dip them in coloured icing.
Tradition
Our family has the tradition of making these every year on a boring Sunday before Christmas. I use my kids’ Play-Doh little Gingerbread man cutter to create the small ones. They are about 5 cm high, a perfect bite for smaller kids and parents on a diet. You could also make the standard, bigger version, but these should be cooked in a different batch. If you also do the bigger version, keep them in the oven for 3 minutes longer.
The Spices
For me, Christmas smells like cinnamon and orange. As such, I make this dough slightly different by adding a touch of orange flavour and omitting the molasses or honey. I use spices that I can easily find in the store—the most important being ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. If you dig other spices like anis, cloves, and five-spice, add them to the mix. If you want a festive cold drink to go with your cookies, check out Alcohol-Free Mandarin Coquito.
As a side note, spices contain lovely antioxidants and much more. Check out this link to learn about the health benefits of each spice!
How long do ground spices last?
Most spices weaken with time. They don’t go bad, per se, but they will lose their flavour, colour, and potency over time. The ground spices used in this recipe have been in the pantry for about 2-3 years. That said, ginger can last 3-4 years. So, if you haven’t already, get your spices to make tasty cookies!
Kid-Friendly
The kids will love helping out every step of the way to make these Mini Gingerbread Men Cookies. They can assist in pouring the ingredients into the mixer, cutting the cookies, and, the most fun, decorating them! Keep an eye on them, though. My four-year-old tended to overdo the sprinkles, and this poor gingerbread man was completely covered. Since the main idea behind making mini cookies is to reduce sugar, go easy on the sprinkles!
Royal Icing Technique
First, add powdered sugar to a small bowl to make the royal icing. Then, mix one tablespoon of milk at a time (up to 3-4 tablespoons) and mix with a whisk until smooth. I added some food colouring, but it wasn’t necessary since they got covered in sprinkles. But kids love colours! If you can make a few icings with simple colours like red, green, and white, that would be even better!
Also, let the cookies on the racks cool completely, at least 5-10 minutes, before decorating them. You wouldn’t want the gingerbread men to lose an arm, leg, or even worse, ahead! Then, let the magic happen with the help of the kids! There is no need to be super precise for these.
Other Christmas Treats
Mini Gingerbread Men Cookies
Equipment
- small 5cm (2 inches) gingerbread men cookie cutter or Play-Doh set cutter of 5cm
Ingredients
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g unsalted butter cut into small cubes
- 75 g dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 60 ml orange juice or water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp nutmeg
The toppings
- 130 g powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- sprinkles
- food colouring *optional
Instructions
- Start by mixing the butter and sugar in a mixer.
- Add the egg and the rest of the ingredients. Mix until smooth.
- Cover the dough in plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Add a bit of flour on a clean surface and the dough, and roll the dough with a rolling pin until 2 mm thick.
- Cut out shapes of little gingerbread men with the 5cm cookie cutter. Put them on a parchment paper or baking sheet.
- Cook in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for 6-7 minutes; you'll need to make many batches (about four).
- Take the cookies out of the oven and gently move them to a cooling rack. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes before decorating.
- Make the royal icing by mixing the powdered sugar and milk.
- Add two drops of colouring of your choice, and move around with a wooden stick.
- Add the sprinkles to a small bowl.
- Decorate the cookies by dipping them in icing and sprinkles (kid's job).
Notes
Nutrition
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Did You Make This Recipe?
Share your thoughts on it! Leave a comment or share a picture and tag me @littlenomadsrecipes on Instagram.
these looks so fun and festive. I’m adding this to my holiday baking list with my kid! She will have a blast decorating them!
So fun to do with the kids, enjoy!
These are just right what I need right now. A bucket of gingerbread cookies!!
Yeah! These make a good start at the great Xmas season!
I love the idea of making mini gingerbread men! All my cookie cutters seem to be the size of my head and sometimes I just want a little treat!
That’s exactly what I was thinking! These normal sized gingerbread cookies are way too big for kids…
These are just so cute. Making gingerbread is one of our most favourite things to do as a family!
Hope you’ll enjoy making these!
My nieces and nephews loved making these gingerbread cookies. Especially the decorating part! Will make these again.
Decorating part is so fun! Enjoy!