McCormick® Gingerbread Men Cookies

Made these for the Thanksgiving get together with family and everyone loved it. Followed recipe exactly, except not necessarily McCormick brand spices. Left dough in frig overnight. Did not ice/decorate as everyone liked it as is. Baked only the minimum 8 mins. and they came out nice and soft. I only got 17-18 gingerbread men but might have made them alittle thicker. Longer bake time may make them crispier if you like that way. Family asked me to make more so started a new batch on this day after Thanksgiving. Will maybe freeze some for longer storage. 2nd batch-rolled dough a bit thinner-1/4 inch or less. Got 26 cookies. Tried baking a few for 10 minutes and turned out too crisp after cooling. Recommend 8 minutes but may vary with ovens.

When I first baked these cookies I did not like them. I thought that they were very bland. Because I could not decide what to do with them, I wrapped them up and stuck them in my freezer. I took a couple out last night and WOW are they good. The flavors all came out and they are excellent. Also they seemed to be softer after freeezing. I am so happy that I didn't throw them away!

Ok so this was my first time making gingerbread, this recipe is AWESOME!! followed to a T and it came out perfect! chilled overnight. the cookies came out fantastic and everyone loved them!!!!

This is an excellent recipe - I made these for a Christmas cookie decorating party and was really pleased with the results. I would recommend rolling the dough out as instructed (to 1/4" thickness). I first rolled the dough out too thick and my first couple of cookies were too puffy and cake-y. After rolling the dough to 1/4" they turned out perfectly.

I am so sorry my 14 year old niece made these while I was at work yesterday she probably did not measure the spices correctly. And then she left the review before I came home. Again I am sorry I can't figure out how to take it off.

I got ahold of an electric mixer, and I'm glad I did...the reviewer who suggested I needed one for this recipe was absolutely right! Anyway, now that I've made these cookies, I can finally put in my two cents--having never made gingerbread before, I really didn't know what to expect, but this was quite a painless recipe! My dough was a little on the crumbly side, but I suspect it was an error on my part. Additionally, they taste more like molasses than ginger, but maybe that's because I used Black Strap which has a very obvious flavour! Anyway, I will definitely make these again. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

These were ok, but I would have preferred to have an extra TSP of ginger in there. Also, these are more of a soft cookie, even when rolled out thinner and left in the oven a little longer. TRICKS to easy rolling. If you are in a rush, put the dough in the freezer to harden. Then roll out right on the parchment paper. Cut out your shapes leaving space between each cookie so you can just lift off the excess around the cut outs and place directly in the oven. No "bent / out of shape" cookies. Cookies swell when cooking, so if 2 are stuck together, don't pull (you could pull and arm or a leg off!!! oh no!!) just use a sharp thin knife to push through the area and seperate gently. Voila! Great cookies. :)

Very nice cookies. We didn't notice the 4 hour chill time though so weren't able to make them until the next day. The dough was way too hard coming out of the fridge so had to wait a bit for it to warm up. Very crispy and delicious! Will definitely put these in Christmas cookie rotation.

This was an amazing recipe! So easy, had all the ingredients on hand and it made tons of cookies! This is definately my "go to" gingerbread man recipe!

Awesome Gingerbread Men! Nice and soft. Followed recipe exactly. Used Wilton's Merinque Icing recipe for the piping.

Delicioous cookies. Just right softness. Do not refrigerate longer than an hour. The dough becomes too stiff to roll out if refrigerated any longer. Will make these again, for sure.

If I could have I would have given this recipe 2 1/2 stars. It's not terrible, but I found them to be a bit bland. The consistency was good, but overall the flavor was mediocre. Maybe use salted butter or increase salt a little, add cloves, and use more ginger.

No complaints about this recipe. I am making it for the 2nd time today. I made this a week ago (exactly as the recipe instructs) and the cookies lasted just one day (meaning we ate them all). The aroma filled the house with the most wonderful of scents. Mmm... can't wait for my second batch to be baked.

these turned out so great! i doubled the spices as we like our gingerbread spicy, and they're delicious. These were the first roll-out / cut-out cookies i've ever made, and they turned out fabulous---i figured out to roll the dough when it is still cool between two sheets of parchment paper: easy peasy! Thank you!

My kids loved these cookies. I rolled them thin because they do plump in the oven. To do this I just rolled them on parchment paper and left them on it and stuck it in the oven. As others suggested I took them out after 8 minutes of baking. They were strong enough to decorate, yet soft and chewy. The recipe yielded 23 cookies. The kids loved decorating them too. I used this recipe to make the icing, put it in snack bags with different food coloring and the kids piped it on them. I will definitely make these again. Thanks. 1/3 cup butter, softened 2 cups confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional) food coloring

These are soo good!! Better than the ones I have made in the past that used shortening! My daughter can't get enough of these! Makes great houses too!!

Yum! These are really great! I rolled the dough out to a little thicker than 1/4". Had to throw the dough into the freezer at one point (it warmed up quickly and was too sticky to work with). I pulled them out before I thought they were completely done and left them to cool on the cookie sheet. They were perfect! Soft and delicious! I used the icing from Delilah's Frosted Cut-Out Sugar Cookies on this site (but added about 1/2 tsp almond oil to it). So yummy! The kids decorated the gingerbread men with raisins and M&M's, because that's all we had. What a fun activity. We will make these again.

This recipe was amazing. I'm an amateur cook, and these were so easy, I always look for this one. I wanted to be able to flex with ginger snaps and gingerbread, so instead of nutmeg, I used cloves. they tasted great and everyone I've given them to LOVED THEM TO BITS. Some suggestions though, The thinner they are, the easier they harden, as it, it gets hard if it's thin, so make sure you smooth it out right. The two dozens is pretty correct, every time I make them I have around 2.5 douzens, or maybe it's just me. If you want to cut some fat out, you can limit the butter to a 1/2 cup and lower the sugar just a bit as well. I'm baking them right now, and the smells just brings a smile to my face. You can also lower the heat so it doesn't easily burn but it takes a few minutes more. This is good especially for those who like the thinner cookies. This is a definitely keepsake recipe alright !

Double spices and add a little more sugar to compensate. Come out chewy and delicious.

Very Very good.If you do not have any molasses you can subsitute honey, Thats what I did and it turned out great.

These are absolutely DELICIOUS!! I made the dough and stuck it in the freezer since I knew I wouldn't get to make the cookies for a few days. And I made them exactly like the recipe called for only not using McCormick. I found the dough easy to work with. Rolled it out with wax paper or just flour. The flavor is amazing...they are not too spicy. Just right in my oppinion. This will be my go to recipe for Gingerbread cookies for now on.

These were just ok. It just felt as though something was missing. I'm on to another recipe....

these were great, followed the recipe except added a little cardeman. I used pumpkin cutter and we decorated with what i could find in the house: craisins, cocconut, pumpkin seeds, and butterscotch chips. My girsl loved decorating them and they are the perfect fall cookie.

These are pretty good. I usually use a recipe with real ginger but did not want the hassle of grating ginger so I used this recipe. The only downfall is they are not gingery enough for a gingerbread cookie. I will use this recipe again, I'll just use more ginger.

My boyfriend said these were the best gingerbread cookies he ever had! The first time he ever said I cooked something "the best"...thanks for the great recipe!

The dough will be very sticky to work with so it is important that you coat your hands and bowl with flour and then form the dough into smaller clumps (no bigger than the palm of your hand). Also, you'll need to work fast - roll, cut, place extra back in fridge. If you're going to try to make the batch all at once, put the warmer dough balls in the freezer so they get colder faster as you work. Otherwise, these cookies are great and get better with age!! The family loved them!!

Every Christmas my daughter and I make Gingerbread. I'm always trying new gingerbread recipes but now that I've found this, I'm done. We will be making these for years to come!

This recipe is great. instead of piping on decorations in icing I dipped the feet and the head in dark chocolate and let them dry on wax paper, once they were dry I piped white chocolate along the top of the dark chocolate to create little fur topped boots, I also piped a white chocolate pom pom for on top of the touque.

These are perfect, soft and tasty!

These cookies taste great. However, I refrigerated overnight and tried to roll out the dough, but it was way too sticky and I had to knead in about 1/3 cup additional flour. Make sure not to roll too thin, or they will be very crunchy.

GINGERBREAD-PERFECTION! I cooked mine 8 1/2 minutes for a nice SOFT gingerbread cookie. Cook for the full 11 if you prefer a crispier cookie :)

I have revised my post from 2 to 4 stars after tasting the cookies with icing on them AND after sitting in a zip-lock baggie in the cupboard for over 24 hours. With icing and in baggies, the cookies seemed much, much better-- they softened up and tasted nice. So, if you use this recipe, I recommend a good icing, and let them sit at least overnight, in baggies, to soften up and "mellow". Here's my original post, so perhaps to prepare you for what they are like right out of the oven... I followed the recipe exactly and was very unimpressed. The cookies are bland and heavy on the molasses flavor, there's no ginger taste, or even cinnamon for that matter. If I try again I will add 1-2 t more of ginger and sub in 1/4 cup plus 2 T of white sugar for 1/4 cup of molasses-- hopefully that will increase the sweetness and drain out the strong molasses flavor in these. I give them 2 stars because they taste very ordinary. I think perhaps a little orange zest would be good in these as well. Anyway, I tried. Oh, and as someone else said, the dough is very sticky and a bit difficult to handle and work with. You'll need lots of extra white flour for the rolling pin, hands, and surface for rolling out the dough. Merry Christmas! :)

This was the stickiest recipe for gingerbread EVER!! I had to add lots more flour to keep the dough from sticking. The only thing this recipe has going for it is taste!

This was our first try making gingerbread men, and they were fantastic! The first batch was a little sticky to get off the counter so we used more flour (our definition of lightly floured must be different). They taste great, the kids love them. Used a simple powdered sugar/vanilla/milk recipe from BHG for the icing, very good!

I added a tsp of lemon extract. Gave them a little extra something. YUM!

These cookies came out very well but the dough is very sticky even after being refrigerated overnight. I had to use a ton of flour to roll the dough out but the cookies were very good. The only change I made was 4t fresh ground ginger instead of the dried. 8 minutes in the oven and they were soft and chewy; 10 minutes and they were crunchy like gingersnaps. Good either way. I decorated mine with royal icing. (don't care about the raw egg whites; that is why you have an immune system) They came out looking like classic storybook gingerbread men and tasted great.

Great recipe. I made it exactly as stated (I refridgerated overnight), and the cookies came out beautiful and tasty!

Great!!! Softest gingerbread cookies I have ever made! I had to add a lot of extra flour when rolling them out, as the dough was very sticky. I had some trouble with that at first. Otherwise, they were perfect! I didn't cooked them for exactly 8 minutes and let them cool for a couple of minutes on the tray before moving them.

This recipe is not only very easy to make, but delicious! I decorated the finished gingerbread men with store-bought cream cheese frosting and used it to pipe on gingerbread men decor, faces and hair. I used either red hots or red or green M&Ms for the three buttons on each gingerbread man. If using red hots, make sure to place them on the gingerbread men before baking so they 'stick'. Enjoy!

the dough was super hard to work with when taken straight out of the fridge, it wouldnt roll and cracked..when i left it to rest, come to room temp and kneaded it a few times, it was so much easier then.so make sure to take it out before you plan to work with it..but super tasty and soft from the inside

these cookies keep getting better and better! Rather molassesy but thats ok :)

These cookies tasted good (not enough ginger flavour for me) but the process was very trying. After lightly flouring the surface and the rolling pin and following all the directions the dough refused to behave and stuck to everything like brown gorilla glue. I had to flour everything several times and almost gave up. Having persevered, I can say it was worth it but will not use this recipe again as it lacked ginger flavour and was just too hard to work with

This gingerbread recipe was delicious. Couldnt find a gingerbread man cookie cutter, so just made them round and glazed them with an eggnog and powered sugar mix. Thanks for the great recipe!

Great recipe, I saw it and I said to myself now that's a gingerbread cookie! I did have a problem rolling them out but that is only because I added a little too much butter and was to impatient to let them rest in the fridge for 4 hours. So I made them like a drop cookie and they turned out really good!

I made these last Christmas and these were Delicious. They were the first to disappear and the only ones the family asked if we could make another batch of once they were gone! Only reason I say 4 and not 5 stars is the prep time only says 20 minutes BUT the dough needs to be refridgerated for 4 hours or longer, When I furst made these it set me back in my cookie schedule because it wasnt included in the prep time breakdown.

The dough for these cookies was great to work with. I prefer more spice though and will up it by 1/2 what is called for next time and see if the adjustment is good. Otherwise very good recipe.

Awesome recipe!! I did 1.5 times the spice, chilled for 3 hours and baked them for 8 min.

These were perfect! Easy to roll out, and DELICIOUS! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!

Great recipe. Dough was easy to work with and the cookies turned out fantastic! More of a soft gingerbread cookie. i don't even think they need icing-the cookie is good as is!

I followed the recipe completly and was very disappointed...no stars

classic gingerbread! good too!

This recipe was really great! My whole family loved it. However I did replace the vanilla with light Karo corn syrup and it turned out great! Thanks I will definitely use this recipe again!

This was my first attempt at making gingerbread and this recipe was great! I used black treacle instead of molasses as that's what I had in my cupboard. Perfect ginger taste! - It's now many bakes later and this recipe is cooked all year as my daughter loves this gingerbread!

These turned out really great. I was hesitant while I was making them because I'd never smelled molasses before and thought it smelled disgusting, but once baked they have a very nice flavor. Be sure to use a lot of flour on your surface when rolling or they'll stick! Looking forward to making them with my son next year when he's old enough to enjoy it! :)

Perfect gingerbread! Dough was easy enough to work with. Followed recipe exactly and baked 8 minutes.

This was an absolutely wonderful dough to work with! I followed the recipe exactly and refrigerated the dough over night. I had no difficulty mixing in the flour with my Kitchen Aid mixer. I baked for 8 minutes and they came out slightly crispy. The cookies held their shape well after baking and I decorated them with a thin glaze and sprinkles. Will definitely make again. One more thing; I rolled the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper. This eliminated the need for extra flour.

these were good, I added all spice and cloves for extra kick, used hugs and made blossom cookies.

I had a little boy who wanted gingerbread cookies that were not "men" these turned out great Here you go David, no one can say they aren't your cookies. :)

These cookies are ideal. I changed very little, but I did only add 1/4 cup molasses because I am not crazy about the flavor of molasses. To make up for it, I made a molasses consistency syrup of brown sugar and water-about 1/4 cup. It worked perfectly. One thing I wish I had known before hand was that when I went to roll out my chilled "disk" of dough, the ends split so badly that I felt like I didn't have a good surface to work with, after each time we used the cookie cutters, we re-rolled and put it the thickness that we wanted the cookies and froze it for a couple minutes. these cook up beautifully.

This is a great cookie! This version really lets the spices take the limelight...not overly sugary at all! It's nice to have a cookie that highlights ginger and nutmeg as the stars :) Yes, the dough did crack, and needed a lot of flour not to stick, but it was well worth the little bit of extra rolling pin elbow grease in the end!

They kept their shape in the oven - a must when making cutouts. They tasted great too. I've finally found a recipe that I'll be using over and over.

I followed the recipe very closely, except that I put my dough into the freezer for two hours. It was still very sticky and I had to use a lot of flour to roll and cut it, but I think the final product has a very good texture and classic gingerbread taste, albeit perhaps more mild than some gingerbread. Good for picky eaters who may not like the strong taste of ginger so much. 8 minutes was the perfect time for my oven. Some of my cookies were thicker than others and they baked up more soft, but the thinner ones are still not overly crunchy. I was able to get between 30-35 cookies by using small cookie cutters in the shapes of stars, trees, and candy canes. Thanks for a simple, dependable recipe.

What a tasty recipe! I made the gingerbread for a house, and it turned out beautifully. The gingerbread was soft, airy, and most of all... delicious. I definately had the best tasting house out of all our friends. I even won first place in a gingerbread house contest!

I have NEVER made gingerbread cookies before, but you wouldn't guess that after making these cookies! This is a super easy recipe that I will use time and time again. I followed the recipe as is and the cookies came out perfect after 8 mins of bake time. I first made them on a Saturday, and on the following Sunday, I had to make ANOTHER batch because all the ones I'd made were gone! Thanks for posting! This will be my #1 recipe for gingerbread cookies!

Very tasty gingerbread cookies. Consistency was perfect and taste was superb.

Very nice cookies. Had to watch the cooking time, though or they turned into little bricks. I was very happy that they held their shape after baking.

These cookies are fabulous! We followed the recipe to a T and they came out amazing. We opted for cooking them for 8 minutes, and they came out slightly soft with crunchy edges. We decorated them with a Butter Icing ... blissful!

People ate them but no one commented on how good they were. I thought the molasses was too much (and I used regular, not blackstrap). I'm giving it 4 stars because it was a fun cookie to make and no one said it was bad.

These are so yummy, I made them before Christmas to freeze, but we ate them all so I had to make another batch. Fantastic!

I liked these cookies, but I found it lacking in a ginger kick. If I make these again, I will definitely add either half or a whole teaspoon of extra ginger, and perhaps some grated fresh ginger as well. I wasn't patient enough to wait four hours, so I separated the dough into batches and stuck them in the freezer for about an hour. I rolled them between wax paper, and I would recommend having some flour to keep your hands from sticking. I baked them for about 8-9 minutes and they were aesthetically pleasing.

I would give 4.5 stars if i could. This recipe has more of a buttery smooth spice and almost caramel flavor that most people would enjoy with a bit of chewyness, but I absolutely love gingerbread cookies with a little more crispyness on the edges and ginger spice bite to them. Next time i will add 50% to all the spices and see how they turn out. But for anyone wanting to make a perfect gingerbread cookies to bring to a gathering I suggest these cookies, they are universally excellent since not a single person could just eat one and they are not too hard to make.

I made these and they worked well. I added 50% more cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. I also rolled thinner (cooked for less time then) and used small men to get more yield. Other than one batch I forgot to take out, they were great. I froze a bunch and will take out and decorate nearer Christmas!

Delicious gingerbread recipe! Nieces and nephews loved it!

I made these last week. After baking for just 8 minutes, they were soft and chewy. The amount of spice was just right for my taste. My husband also thought they were delicious!

This is the best gingerbread recipe I've used. I topped the gingerbread men with the gingerbread icing recipe (from this site), and they were very good.

these were fantastic! they stayed soft for days and were oh so good...mmm. My daughter enjoyed the dough as much as the cookies. Highly recommended

We love these. Nice and sweet and soft.

This is the best gingerbread cookie recipe I have tried. Wonderful flavor and a nice soft cookie. If you like the crunchy gingerbread cookie, I don't think this is the recipe for you.

When I was younger I didn't care for gingerbread cookies but for some reason I wanted to try them this year (I'm 43 now). I stumbled on this recipe and made them-OMG, so easy and so yummy! I had no problems rolling and cutting out this dough. They are moist and delicious and I loved decorating them! I'd give them more stars if I could. Definately will be making these more often!

PERFECT recipe, didn't have nutmeg but they still tasted amazing. Great dough to work with. YUM!

Perfect recipe for traditional gingerbread cookies!

This Gingerbread recipe was so nice that I made it 13 times in 2009. I recently made them on Christmas Eve when I was also cooking the Deluxe Sugar Cookies. Like i replied on Deluxe Sugar Cookies add a dash of pumpkin spice to add some flavor. May all you have a happy new year. :)

Made for Xmas. Recipe easy to follow, and the cookie is delicious. Will definitely make again.

My family loved them. Even my husband ate them and he claims he doesn't like gingerbread. I did find the dough difficult to work with. A little dry. I used water to keep it together. It may have been that my brown sugar was a little dried out and I put the dough in the fridge over night. Will definitely make them again.

These were good, but I definitely recommend doubling the cinnamon.

I followed this recipe exactly, with the dough in the fridge overnight, baking for 8 mins, and they came out just perfect!! This is now my gingerbread recipe :)

Good to make little gb boys and girls for Christmas platter or dipping in coffee. Makes a soft, not-too-sweet cookie.

These were amazing! The dough was rather hard to work with while adding the flour. It was also tough to roll it out with the rolling pin. However, they turned out really nicely - perfect combination of crunchy yet moist! I made some royal icing: beat together 2 egg whites and 2 tsps lemon juice, then slowly beat in 3 cups of powdered sugar. Yum! Definitely making again next year!

Excellent! Chewy and crunchy and delicious.

This turned out really great. It was easy and they cookies stayed just soft enough. :)

Everything is perfect about this recipe only my "men" all broke in half :(. Store with care.

The cookies were delicious. I took them to work, every loved them! The cookies are soft in the inside which I love. I also used this recipe for a Gingerbread House. It worked great! Since I like cinnamon I added 3 teaspoons instead of one.

The best recipe...a little spicy!

These turned out perfect!! They looked like I bought these from a bakery and tasted that way too. The combination of this recipe and Royal Icing II By: Kristen Pontier ( I found on here) they made the perfect cookie. The dough was not too sticky. I put my dough in the fridge overnight. The frosting recipe I found on here is the perfect consistency! This recipie gets 5 large stars from me.

These turned out perfect! 5 stars*****

Excellent recipe. I didn't have any molasses, so I used an equivalent amount of brown sugar with a little bit of Caro syrup. Delicious.

This is a delicious gingerbread cookie! I chilled my dough in the freezer for about 45 min instead of the 4 hour in the fridge and it turned out great. Nice to roll... yummy to taste!

This recipe made a nice soft and chewy cookie, but the flavor of the molasses was much too strong for my liking. Maybe that can be changed with different brands of molasses?? If you aren't a fan of molasses either, try "Gingerbread Men" on this site. It doesn't have molasses, but was a great, milder alternative.

These gingerbread men were amazing. They were super easy to make and were great when rolling out. They made my kitchen smell amazing and they tasted as great as they smelled! Make sure not to over bake them, which can lead to extremely crisp cookies. These will be my go-to recipe for the holidays!