Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (2024)

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (1)

Fact: Gingerbread is to Christmas what pumpkin pie is to Thanksgiving. You could celebrate without it, but it really wouldn't be the same. And why would you want to? Gingerbread is fantastic! Aside from its namesake ginger, the quintessential Christmas flavor typically features cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses, and other spices, making it rich, warming and spicy. Whether you're a superfan or just a regular fan, odds are that the family will expect at least one or two gingerbread treats on to your Christmas menu. Now, you could just bake (or buy) a few gingerbread cookies, and maybe toss up a gingerbread house and call it a season. But there's so much more you can do with this flavor that we wanted to inspire you to think outside the cookie cutter. So we've rounded up all kinds of easy gingerbread dessert recipes that put a playful spin on the traditional sweet.

Try your hand at our gingerbread cheesecake with pecan-graham crust, opt for something a little more elegant with a gingerbread pear loaf, or introduce children to the flavor with gingerbread-chocolate chunk no-churn ice cream. The wonderful thing about gingerbread is that you can make it the dominant taste of a Christmas dessert recipe, or simply incorporate it as more of a supporting player if your Christmas dinner guests have a more sensitive palate. Whichever route you choose, make sure at least one gingerbread recipe is on your table. It just wouldn't be the holidays without it.

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1

Ginger Pumpkin Pie

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (3)

With a gingersnap crust and three different kinds of ginger in the pie itself, this spicy take on pumpkin pie is a surefire gingerbread lover's dream.

Get the recipe.

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2

Gingerbread Cheesecake With Pecan-Graham Crust

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (5)

A gingerbread cheesecake has our names written all over it.

Get the recipe.

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3

Gingerbread Pear Loaf

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (7)

You can dress up a loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper, tinsel, and vintage ornaments to turn it into a lovely Christmas food gift.

Get the recipe.

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4

Gingerbread Eggnog

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (9)

Eggnog fans and gingerbread lovers can agree this Christmas co*cktail is downright delicious.

Get the recipe.

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5

Gingerbread-Chocolate Chunk No-Churn Ice Cream

Celebrating Christmas somewhere warm? Cool off after dinner with this gingerbread no-churn ice cream.

Get the recipe.

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6

Gingerbread Rolls

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (13)

You could make these gingerbread rolls for your neighbors...or you could just eat them yourself. (No judgement.)

Get the recipe.

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7

Mini Gingerbread Bundt Cakes

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (15)

These sweet, bite-sized treats are cute as can be, and perfect for dessert or a snack!

Get the recipe at Brown Sugar.

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8

Gingerbread Souffle with Maple Creme Anglaise

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (17)

Possibly the only thing tastier than gingerbread is maple, and this rich, impressive, and sneakily easy-to-make dessert has both, plus a whole bunch of cream! What's not to love?

Get the recipe at Brown Sugar.

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9

Butterscotch Gingerbread Trifle

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (19)

The only thing better than gingerbread trifle is gingerbread trifle with butterscotch in it.

Get the recipe at The Gold Lining Girl.

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10

Chocolate Chunk Gingerbread Cookies

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (21)

Santa will go nuts for these gingerbread cookies.

Get the recipe at The Food Charlatan.

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11

No Bake Gingerbread Cream Pie

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (23)

Save your precious oven space for cookies, casseroles, and other festive foods this holiday season by whipping up a pan of this rich no-bake pie.

Get the recipe at Homemade in the Kitchen.

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12

Gingerbread Boy Granola

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (25)

Snap out of your snack time rut with this crunchy and sweet granola.

Get the recipe at Half Baked Harvest.

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13

Gingerbread Cookies with Eggnog Icing

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (27)

You better double—or even triple!—this recipe because these eggnog-flavored treats are going to fly off the plate.

Get the recipe at Life, Love, and Sugar.

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14

Gingerbread Swirl Fudge

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (29)

This flavorful fudge will melt in your mouth just like your favorite molasses cookies.

Get the recipe at Sally's Baking Addiction.

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15

Gingerbread Brownies with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (31)

Enjoy the flavors of three delicious treats—gingerbread cookies, brownies, and eggnog—in one Christmas dessert with this easy recipe.

Get the recipe at Carlsbad Cravings.

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16

Gingerbread Cheesecake

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (33)

A molasses mousse topping perfectly complements this Christmas cheesecake's gingerbread filling and cookie accents.

Get the recipe at Life, Love, and Sugar.

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17

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Caramele Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (35)

You can choose to make this caramel and gingerbread combo in either cupcake or cake form–or both if you've got a large crowd to feed this Christmas!

Get the recipe at Half Baked Harvest.

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18

Gingerbread Poke Cake

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (37)

This buttermilk and gingerbread Christmas cake gets extra flavor from sweetened condensed milk, plus cinnamon, caramel sauce, and gingerbread PEEPS, all of which are layered on top.

Get the recipe at Something Swanky.

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19

Nutella-Stuffed Gingerbread Deep Dish Cookie

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (39)

In every bite of this deep dish cookie you'll taste rich Nutella, spicy gingerbread, and sweet molasses.

Get the recipe Cafe Delites.

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20

Homemade Gingerbread Loaf

Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (41)

Drizzle this Christmas dessert loaf with a simple vanilla glaze and sprinkle some cranberries on top before serving with coffee or tea.

Get the recipe at She Wears Many Hats.

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Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What does the gingerbread man symbolize? ›

Long before it became a holiday treat, gingerbread was a royal favorite, a token of fertility, and a tool for witches to exact their vengeance. The pudgy gingerbread man with his candy eyes and icing smile has a sinister backstory—a link to death and the demonic.

What is the gingerbread man myth? ›

The Gingerbread Man (also known as The Gingerbread Boy) is a fairy tale about a gingerbread man's misadventures while fleeing from various people that culminates in the titular character being eaten by a fox. "The Gingerbread Boy" first appeared in print in the May 1875, issue of St.

How to stop gingerbread men from spreading? ›

Chill and Bring to Room Temperature: Chill the dough for at least two hours or overnight, but make sure to bring it back to room temperature before rolling and cutting. Space Out on Baking Sheet: Leave enough space between each cookie on the baking sheet to prevent them from spreading into each other.

What happens if you don't chill gingerbread dough? ›

Chilling the dough before it goes into a hot oven gives the butter a chance to firm up and reduces how much it spreads when baking. “You should chill the dough both before rolling and cutting and after,” she said.

What is the moral lesson of The Gingerbread Man? ›

The gingerbread man story's moral is slightly dark for a fable meant for children: Be careful who you trust. The cookie believed the fox when he said he wasn't tempted to eat him—this misguided trust led to the protagonist's downfall.

What is the main point of The Gingerbread Man? ›

The tale of ''The Gingerbread Man'' is one of hubris. The Gingerbread Man is convinced that he is invincible and cannot be caught by anything. Unfortunately, his pride leads to his undoing. He overestimates his cunning and speed, and he ends up being devoured by a fox.

What animal ate the gingerbread man? ›

The story tells of a Gingerbread Man who runs away from the old woman who baked him. He is chased by several people and animals. A crafty fox finally eats him.

Why is gingerbread called gingerbread? ›

Etymology. Originally, the term gingerbread (from Latin zingiber via Old French gingebras) referred to preserved ginger. It then referred to a confection made with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used to translate the French term pain d'épices ( lit.

How old is gingerbread? ›

According to Rhonda Massingham Hart's Making Gingerbread Houses, the first known recipe for gingerbread came from Greece in 2400 BC. Chinese recipes were developed during the 10th century and by the late Middle Ages, Europeans had their own version of gingerbread.

What happens if a gingerbread man gets wet? ›

Haugh's Kindergarten students worked like scientists to predict what would happen if the Gingerbread Man did get wet, then conducted an experiment and reached conclusions based on their results. They learned that cookies get soggy in water and fall apart!

How long can gingerbread cookies stay fresh? ›

If you like, decorate as desired with royal icing, and dry completely before storage (this can take 12-24 hours depending on thickness of design, ambient humidity, and air flow). With or without frosting, the gingerbread cookies will last up to 3 weeks at cool room temperature in an airtight container.

Why are my gingerbread men so hard? ›

Extra sugar made this cookie way too hard.

As was expected because of the extra brown sugar, this cookie looked dark in color and took on the texture of molasses.

Is it OK to eat gingerbread dough? ›

Store in the Fridge: You can keep edible gingerbread dough in the fridge for up to two weeks. You can eat it right from the fridge – it will be firm – or let it soften for a few minutes to get soft and gooey.

Is it OK to freeze gingerbread dough? ›

Including classic sugar cookies and spicy gingerbread cookies, these are some of my favorite cookies to freeze for the holidays. Freeze the dough in disk-shaped flattened rounds, and then thaw them until they are easy enough to roll out and cut. Then go cookie-cutter crazy and bake.

What is a substitute for molasses in gingerbread cookies? ›

The Best Molasses Substitutes

Honey, dark corn syrup, and maple syrup can also be used to replace molasses in recipes.

What is the significance of gingerbread? ›

Gingerbread was also worn as a talisman in battle or as protection against evil spirits. Gingerbread was a significant form of popular art in Europe; major centers of gingerbread mould carvings included Lyon, Nuremberg, Pest, Prague, Pardubice, Pulsnitz, Ulm, and Toruń.

What is the metaphor of The Gingerbread Man? ›

The story of the gingerbread man could be an analogy where the oven is education; the parents are the educators; the gingerbread an individual; the animals technology; the river life and the fox is a controller.

What is the moral of the gingerbread baby? ›

The little gingerbread baby runs amok in the town but Mattie comes up with a solution and learns a lesson in patience.

What is the personality of The Gingerbread Man? ›

Personality. Gingy presents himself as a cheerful and carefree individual. However, this is mostly a facade for his public appearances, as he has shown to be an extreme worrywart and is occasionally snarky.

References

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