Christmas Gingerbread Men Cookies

Ingredients

• 120 g Unsalted butter (cut into pieces)
• 80 g Forest honey (about 2 tablespoons)
• 150 g Raw sugar (brown or cane)
• 250 g All-purpose flour (sift before use)
• 2 g Baking soda (about ½ teaspoon)
• 2 g Ground cinnamon (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1 g Ground star anise (about ½ teaspoon)
• 1 g Ground nutmeg (about ½ teaspoon)
• 2 g Ground ginger (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1 unit Egg (large, at room temperature)
• 150 g Powdered sugar (sift before use)
• 25 g Lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon)
• a few drops g Green gel food coloring (for the bow ties)
• a few drops g Red gel food coloring (for the buttons)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter, honey, and whole sugar

   Place the butter pieces, forest honey, and whole sugar in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture melts, bring to a boil, then cook for 2 minutes without stopping stirring.

   Time: PT7M

2. Let the mixture cool slightly

   Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken slightly as it cools.

   Time: PT10M

3. Prepare the dry ingredients

   In the mixer bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground star anise, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Mix the powders together well.

   Time: PT5M

4. Incorporate the warm mixture and the egg

   Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the warm mixture into it. Lightly beat the egg with a fork and add it to the well.

   Time: PT5M

5. Achieve a homogeneous dough

   Mix with the mixer paddle until the dough detaches from the bowl walls and forms a smooth ball.

   Time: PT3M

6. Chill the dough

   Turn the dough onto the work surface, shape into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap in plastic film and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.

   Time: PT45M

7. Roll out and cut the cookies

   On a lightly floured parchment sheet, roll the dough to about 5 mm thickness with a rolling pin. Cut man shapes with the cookie cutter, discard scraps, re‑roll and repeat until the dough is used up.

   Time: PT15M

8. Rest before baking

   Place the cut cookies on baking sheets, spacing them slightly, then refrigerate for 15 minutes before baking.

   Time: PT15M

9. Bake the cookies

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan‑forced. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes until lightly golden.

   Time: PT10M

   Temperature: 180°C

10. Cooling after baking

    Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely at room temperature.

    Time: PT5M

11. Prepare the royal icing

    In a bowl, mix 150 g powdered sugar with 25 g lemon juice. Whisk until you obtain a smooth, glossy icing, not too runny.

    Time: PT5M

12. Color the icing

    Divide the icing into three equal portions. Color one portion with green gel food coloring and another with red gel food coloring. The third remains white for details.

    Time: PT5M

13. Put the icing into piping bags

    Transfer each icing portion into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip.

    Time: PT2M

14. Decorate the cookies

    With the white icing, draw the eyes, mouth, and clothing. With the green icing, form the bow ties. With the red icing, add the buttons. Let dry for 15‑20 minutes.

    Time: PT20M

15. Final drying

    Leave the decorated cookies at room temperature for about an additional hour so the icing sets completely.

    Time: PT1H15M

Nutrition Facts

Calories

120

Protein

1 g

Carbohydrates

22 g

Fat

4 g

Fiber

1 g