How could you not resist these adorable Halloween Gingerbread Men for the spookiest night of the year! With a quick and easy spicy gingerbread cookie dough and icing, these guys are perfect for little trick or treaters. With an updated recipe and some handy hints, it’s time to get creepy and kooky…
Yay! It’s October, I’ve been waiting for it for ages. This means that it’s wedding anniversary month, birthday month and lots of other exciting things… I’m beyond excited!
It also means that Halloween is just around the corner!
I love Halloween, not the scary horrible stuff but the nicer side of things.
When we were in Florida for my birthday one Halloween, it was Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party that we headed for, rather than Universal’s Evil Movies. I’d have had nightmares for weeks if we had visited there.
Honestly, I’m such a wuss; I’ll hide behind a cushion and stick my fingers in my ears when the Halloween film adverts come on.
Take me to the gingerbread men already!
Not-so-scary Halloween treats
Luckily for me, when it comes to Halloween baking, it tends to be less on the gruesome side and more on the Disney side… phew!
I’ve had this skeleton gingerbread cutter sat in the cupboard since Spring. I brought it on the off-chance, and I think it’s quite cool.
It’s a dual cookie cutter and embossing stamp, for the skeleton; and it ticks the cute spooky checkbox for making Halloween gingerbread men.
Tried and test gingerbread recipe
Anyway, Ian announced last week that he’d rather have biscuits and cookies to take to work, as he was making too much of a mess with cake.
Seriously, how does he manage to make a mess? It’s straight in, in a couple of bites for me; no crumbs, no mess. But this Boy takes his time over cake, and so the crumbs are inevitable.
Cue the excuse to get skeleton cookie cutter out, and test-run a tweaked gingerbread recipe.
Way back when I had the shop, I would make little gingerbread men to top off my white chocolate and gingerbread cupcakes.
They were more short and biscuity, as they couldn’t be too soft because of the buttercream. But they were a hit every year!
How to make Halloween gingerbread men
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card
We’re looking for a snap that then starts to soften after a day or so. Rock hard gingerbread isn’t nice to eat and is only good for building houses that you’re not going to devour.
To kick up the spice a little, I’ve upped the ground ginger, added a little cinnamon and nutmeg, and switched the muscovado sugar for a soft light brown. You still get that golden colour, but it lets the ginger come through more.
Decorating the gingerbread men
You can make the skeleton gingerbread men without the embossing stamp by icing directly onto the cookies, but the embossing gives the icing somewhere to flood.
The one thing to remember though, if you are using the embossing stamp, is to make sure you push down all over, else the emboss is shallow and has a tendency to bake out.
TOP TIP: If the embossing bakes out, gently press the stamp into the baked cookies while they are still soft and warm; then leave to cool.
Step by step vide0
Handy hints for Halloween gingerbread men
View my Amazon shopping list with equipment and ingredients.
This is a super simple recipe, and the gingerbread dough is perfect for the Christmas holidays as well as Halloween. But to get the best dough every time, check out these top tips…
- Chill your gingerbread dough – wrap the dough in clingfilm and pop in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. It’s easier to handle and less likely to stick to your rolling pin.
- Add a sprinkle of water – if you find your dough breaks apart when rolling out, this usually indicates that it is too dry. Fix this by sprinkling a little cold water over the dough with your fingers, then gently bringing it back together before rolling out again.
- Don’t overwork the dough – handle the dough with care and you’ll get great gingerbread men every time. Overworking or over-rolling the dough can cause the cookies to be tough. You’re after a firm snap, not one that gives your teeth a workout.
- Freeze leftover gingerbread dough – if you don’t want to make a whole batch or you have dough leftover, wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm and freeze for up to 3 months
- Humidity is the bane of a gingerbread man’s life – make sure you keep your gingerbread somewhere cool and dry, and in an airtight container. Leaving it out will make it turn soft really quickly
Recommended equipment
Looking for more Halloween bakes?
Check out these other awesome Halloween recipes for inspiration…
Halloween Gingerbread Skeleton Men
Equipment
Ingredients
- 350 g Plain Flour or All Purpose flour
- 150 g Light Soft Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 100 g Butter Salted, Cold and Cubed
- 1 Eggs Medium
- 4 tbsp Golden Syrup or Light corn syrup
VIDEO
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line two large baking trays with baking parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips. The rubbed-in mixture should resemble fine breadcrumbs or sand. Add the sugar to the rubbed-in mixture.350 g Plain Flour, 1 tbsp Ground Ginger, 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 150 g Light Soft Brown Sugar
- In a separate bowl, add the egg and golden syrup. Whisk together.4 tbsp Golden Syrup, 1 Eggs
- Make a well in the centre of the rubbed-in mixture, and pour in the egg and golden syrup. Mix together to form a smooth dough.
- Roll the dough into a sausage, wrap in cling-film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of approximately 3-5mm.
- Using a gingerbread man cutter, cut out as many gingerbread men as possible. Gently lift onto the lined baking tray with a flat palette knife.
- If using an embossing stamp, gently but firmly press onto the gingerbread men; or using a small knife or cocktail stick make holes for eyes, mouth and buttons.
- Make sure the gingerbread men are spaced well apart to allow them to spread when they are baking. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Take the gingerbread men out of the oven and slide them off the baking tray and onto a cooling rack to cool.
- To decorate, fill a piping bag fitted with a round piping nozzle, with Royal Icing and flood the embossed skeleton. Alternatively, fill a piping bag and snip off the end to make a very small opening.
Notes
- Chill your gingerbread dough – wrap the dough in clingfilm and pop in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. It’s easier to handle and less likely to stick to your rolling pin.
- Add a sprinkle of water – if you find your dough breaks apart when rolling out, this usually indicates that it is too dry. Fix this by sprinkling a little cold water over the dough with your fingers, then gently bringing it back together before rolling out again.
- Don’t overwork the dough – handle the dough with care and you’ll get great gingerbread men every time. Overworking or over-rolling the dough can cause the cookies to be tough. You’re after a firm snap, not one that gives your teeth a workout.
- Freeze leftover gingerbread dough – if you don’t want to make a whole batch or you have dough leftover, wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm and freeze for up to 3 months
- Humidity is the bane of a gingerbread man’s life – make sure you keep your gingerbread somewhere cool and dry, and in an airtight container. Leaving it out will make it turn soft really quickly
Nutrition
DISCLAIMER
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Hi, i just finished making 3 batches of these cookies and followed the directions and put them in the fridge. When i went to roll out the first batch that was in there about 40 minutes it all fell apart. Part of your recipe says to chill fir 30 mins and then in another part says to chill for 1-2 hrs. I threw that batch out just want to know if the other 2 are selvedgeable please.
Hi Emma
Chilling dough makes it easier to roll out and anywhere from 30 minutes upwards works. I often keep my dough in the fridge overnight before baking. So whether it’s 30 minutes or 1-2 hours this wouldn’t ‘usually’ cause the dough to break apart. The dough breaking apart is typically due to it being too dry. To rectify this sprinkling a little cold water over the dough with your fingers, then gently bringing it back together before rolling out will help the pastry reform. If the dough gets too warm, pop it back fridge. Cookie dough can be salvaged if it is too dry with just a little moisture.
I hope that helps.
Thanks
Lou
Hi, I found this through a BritMums feature. I normally make gingerbread skeletons or bats for Halloween, so think I’ll try out your recipe this year. They look nice and yummy! š
Zania
Awww thanks Zania, and lovely to have you pop over from BritMums! I love the gingerbread skeletons, but haven’t made bats before – this year I might have to give them a go as well – thank you for the idea. Happy Halloween!
These look fab!
Thanks Jacqui! They make Halloween a little less scary.
thank you for sharing the recipe and your advices, this looks really cute and yummy!!!
Thank you Ruzu! They are really yummy and I love the cute side of Halloween rather than the really scary so these tick all the boxes for me.