Quick and easy Homemade Eggless Gingerbread Cookies recipe with step-wise pictures! Make the best gingerbread men cookies at home this Christmas season.
It had been a big dream come true for me, making Gingerbread Men at home. I have always adored these cute little cookies during Christmas time and I have always wanted to make them at home. I don’t know what stopped me from until now, but when I am determined to make something, nothing can change it. I ordered the gingerbread man cookie cutter and it was delivered to me couple of days early, pushing me to make these Eggless Gingerbread Cookies finally! Given my recent love for Ginger and Cinnamon, I loved baking as well as eating these gingerbread men 🙂
I love my cookies crisp and crunch, so if you are like me, this recipe works magic in getting these Eggless Gingerbread Cookies the perfect snap. If you do like soft chewy cookies, the best way to achieve that texture is to bake for 3-4 mins lesser. Gingerbread Men cookies are deep brown and that’s due to a couple of ingredients – brown sugar and molasses. For those in India, molasses could easily be made at home by making a thick jaggery syrup. I ended up using one of the best alternatives – honey.
Traditionally, gingerbread cookies are decorated using royal icing which is nothing but whipped egg whites and icing sugar. As these are eggless gingerbread cookies, I chose not to use eggs for the icing and instead made a quick glaze using milk and icing sugar, similar to the one I made for my Eggless Cinnamon Rolls. There are many ways to decorate a gingerbread man, but I stuck to the easiest design. I also cut a few cookies in the shape of the star and used the same icing to frost those as well. To make it kid-friendly, use sprinkles or sugar stamps to decorate your cookies!
Enjoy these cookies with a tall glass of milk or have fun decorating your Christmas tree. If you are like me, gift them to your friends. Edible gifts are the best kind of gifts, if you ask me. There is no joy like sharing food with your loved ones 🙂
How to make Eggless Gingerbread Cookies | Homemade Gingerbread Men Cookies
📖 Recipe
Eggless Gingerbread Cookies | Homemade Gingerbread Men Cookies
MEASUREMENT
1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, 1 teaspoon = 5ml
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Butter
- ½ cup Brown Sugar I used light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon Honey
- 1 tablespoon Milk
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Essence
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
- pinch Generousof Salt
- ½ teaspoon Dry Ginger Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Clove Powder Powder 2 Cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg Powder Powder a small piece of Nutmeg
- For the Icing –
- ¼ cup Icing Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Milk or Water
Instructions
- In a mixer bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat it for 2-3 mins until it is creamy. I used my Kitchen-aid stand mixer and ran it on the lowest powder until the mixture was creamy for 2 mins.
- Add 2 tablespoon honey followed by vanilla essence. Whisk again for a minute.
- Meanwhile, add all the dry ingredients – all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder, dry ginger powder, nutmeg and clove powders.
- Mix the ingredients well. If required, sieve once.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl in batches and whisk again for a minute.
- When the mixture looks crumbly, add 1 tablespoon of milk and whisk again for a minute until the dough comes together.
- Invert the dough onto kitchen counter, bring it together and wrap it tightly in a cling wrap. Refrigerate for minimum one hour.
- Now make two equal partitions of the dough and roll one part between parchment sheets until it is half a centimeter thick. For soft, chewy cookies, roll it thicker. Place the other half of the dough back in the fridge until needed.
- Cut the rolled dough using the gingerbread man cookie cutter or a simple star or round cookie cutter.
- Ensure there is minimal wastage when cutting the cookies. Preheat the oven at 180°C for 10 mins.
- Carefully remove the cut cookies and place them on a lined baking tray with 2 inches between each cookie. If the dough is very soft, place the tray in the fridge for 5-10 mins before baking.
- Bake the cookies at 180°C for 8 mins on toast mode (both filaments on) and another 2-3 mins on bake mode (only bottom filament for even baking and even coloring.
- The cookies feel soft just out of the oven. Wait for a couple of minutes and gently transfer them to a wire rack to cool them down completely. They would crisp up on cooling down.
- Repeat this process with rest of the dough. Meanwhile, prepare the icing by mixing icing sugar with milk or water.
- The icing should be freely flowing. Pour it into a piping bag or simply a plastic bag, cut a small opening at the end.
- Pipe out the designs on completely cooled down cookies. The icing dries out almost in 5 mins. If using sprinkles or sugar stamps, don’t wait until the icing is dry.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container, these stay good for upto a week.
Detailed step-wise picture recipe of making Eggless Gingerbread Cookies | Homemade Gingerbread Men Cookies
1. In a mixer bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat it for 2-3 mins until it is creamy. I used my Kitchen-aid stand mixer and ran it on the lowest powder until the mixture was creamy for 2 mins.
2. Add 2 tablespoon honey followed by vanilla essence. Whisk again for a minute.
3. Meanwhile, add all the dry ingredients – all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder, dry ginger powder, nutmeg and clove powders.
4. Mix the ingredients well. If required, sieve once.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl in batches and whisk again for a minute.
6. The mixture looks crumbly.
6. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and whisk again for a minute until the dough comes together.
7. Invert the dough onto kitchen counter, bring it together and wrap it tightly in a cling wrap. Refrigerate for minimum one hour.
8. Now make two equal partitions of the dough and roll one part between parchment sheets until it is half a centimeter thick. For soft, chewy cookies, roll it thicker. Place the other half of the dough back in the fridge until needed.
9. Cut the rolled dough using the gingerbread man cookie cutter or a simple star or round cookie cutter.
10. Ensure there is minimal wastage when cutting the cookies. Gather the left over dough portion and roll it again. Preheat the oven at 180°C for 10 mins.
11. Carefully remove the cut cookies and place them on a lined baking tray with 2 inches between each cookie. If the dough is very soft, place the tray in the fridge for 5-10 mins before baking.
12. Bake the cookies at 180°C for 8 mins on toast mode (both filaments on) and another 2-3 mins on bake mode (only bottom filament for even baking and even coloring.
13. The cookies feel soft just out of the oven. Wait for a couple of minutes and gently transfer them to a wire rack to cool them down completely. They would crisp up on cooling down.
14. Repeat this process with rest of the dough. Meanwhile, prepare the icing by mixing icing sugar with milk or water.
15. The icing should be freely flowing. Pour it into a piping bag or simply a plastic bag, cut a small opening at the end.
16. Pipe out the designs on completely cooled down cookies. The icing dries out almost in 5 mins. If using sprinkles or sugar stamps, don’t wait until the icing is dry.
17. Store the cookies in an airtight container, these stay good for upto a week.
Recipe Notes
- The baking time on cookies largely varies depending on the thickness of the cookie, make and design of your oven. Keep a close eye on the cookies while they are baking. As the edges turn golden brown and are firm, you can remove them from the oven.
- For soft, chewy cookies reduce the baking time by 2-3 mins and bake at 170°C.
- If you are planning on using these cookies as decorations on your tree, poke a small hole at the top using a toothpick.
- Resting time is really important to ensure that these cookies retain their shape while baking.
- Also, don’t overwork the dough than what is mentioned in the recipe. This would activate the gluten in the all-purpose flour and the cookies might not turn out good.
I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂
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