Anna Louise Gingerbread men are the bake I associate most specifically with childhood — the smell of ginger and cinnamon and treacle filling the kitchen, the rolling and cutting with cutters, the slight anticipation of the decoration stage.
They are also, I will say plainly, the bake that adults enjoy making as much as children do, because the decoration stage is genuinely absorbing and the results are always cheerful.
Good gingerbread biscuits have a specific texture — crisp rather than soft, with a clean snap when broken, and a warmly spiced flavour that comes primarily from ground ginger but is deepened by cinnamon, mixed spice, and a generous amount of black treacle.
The treacle gives the characteristic dark colour and the slightly bitter depth that distinguishes a proper gingerbread biscuit from something that is simply a brown sugar biscuit with some ginger in it.
The dough is easy to make and straightforward to handle — it rolls cleanly, it holds its shape during baking, and it gives biscuits that are crisp all the way through with none of the soft, slightly underdone centres that make some gingerbread biscuits disappointing.
Ingredients for Mary Berry Gingerbread Men (Makes approximately 20)
For the Gingerbread Dough
- 350g plain flour, sifted — plus extra for rolling
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 125g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 175g soft dark brown sugar
- 3 tbsp black treacle
- 1 large egg, beaten
For the Royal Icing Decoration
- 200g icing sugar, sifted
- 2–3 tbsp cold water — added one teaspoon at a time until thick and pipeable
- Gel food colouring — red, white, and any additional colours wanted
- Hundreds and thousands, silver balls, or chocolate chips for eyes and buttons
How to Make Mary Berry Gingerbread Men
Step 1 — Make the Dough
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice, and ground cloves into a large bowl.
Add the cold butter. Rub in with cool fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the soft dark brown sugar and stir through. Add the black treacle and beaten egg. Mix first with a round-bladed knife, then bring together with your hands into a firm, smooth, fragrant dough. The treacle makes the dough slightly stickier than standard biscuit dough — this is correct.
Flatten into a disc. Wrap and refrigerate for thirty minutes. Chilling firms the butter and makes the dough easier to roll without sticking.
Step 2 — Preheat and Roll
Preheat your oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / Gas 5. Line three large baking trays with baking parchment.
Working on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin, roll the chilled dough to approximately 4mm thick. Gingerbread biscuits rolled too thinly lose their slight chewiness. Rolled too thick they do not bake through evenly. Four millimetres is the right thickness.
Step 3 — Cut and Bake
Cut out gingerbread men using a gingerbread man cutter — approximately 12cm. Re-roll the trimmings and cut again. Place on the prepared trays with a little space between each.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the biscuits are a slightly deeper shade of golden-brown than the dough and feel just firm when pressed very lightly in the centre. They will crisp further as they cool — do not over-bake.
Cool on the trays for five minutes — the biscuits are fragile when hot. Transfer carefully to a wire rack and cool completely before decorating.
Step 4 — Make the Royal Icing and Decorate
Mix the sifted icing sugar with cold water one teaspoon at a time until a thick, pipeable icing forms — it should hold its shape when piped but not be so stiff it is difficult to squeeze through a piping bag.
Divide into small bowls and colour with gel food colouring as desired. Spoon into piping bags fitted with very small round nozzles, or use disposable piping bags with the very tip snipped off.
Pipe faces, buttons, scarves, and any other decorations onto the completely cooled gingerbread men. Press silver balls or chocolate chips in for eyes and buttons while the icing is still wet. Leave to set completely — at least one hour — before stacking or storing.
My Top Tips For Perfect Mary Berry Gingerbread Man
Black treacle gives the authentic gingerbread character. The dark colour, the slight bitterness, and the specifically gingerbread depth all come from the black treacle. Golden syrup alone gives a lighter, paler, less interesting biscuit. Black treacle is the essential ingredient.
Refrigerate the dough before rolling. The treacle and brown sugar give a slightly sticky dough that is difficult to roll without chilling. Thirty minutes in the fridge firms the butter and makes the dough clean, easy to roll, and easy to handle without sticking to the surface or the rolling pin.
Roll to exactly 4mm. This is the thickness that gives the best balance of crispness and slight chewiness in a gingerbread biscuit. Thinner gives a very brittle biscuit that breaks easily. Thicker gives an unevenly baked biscuit with a slightly doughy centre.
Cool completely before decorating. Royal icing applied to a warm biscuit melts, runs, and does not set properly. The biscuits must be completely cold — at room temperature for at least thirty minutes after transfer from the rack — before any icing goes on.
Make the icing thick enough to hold its shape. Royal icing that is too thin runs off the biscuit surface rather than staying where it is piped. Add the water one teaspoon at a time and test by piping a small line on a plate — it should hold its shape cleanly without spreading.
Serving Suggestions
As a Christmas baking activity with children. As tree decorations — make a hole in each biscuit before baking using a skewer and thread a ribbon through once decorated. As a bake sale contribution — gingerbread men always sell immediately. As gifts — six in a cellophane bag with a ribbon is a completely charming homemade present.
How to Store Mary Berry Gingerbread Man
In an airtight tin: Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. The biscuits stay crisp throughout.
In the freezer: Freeze undecorated biscuits for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature for one hour and decorate fresh.
Mary Berry Gingerbread Man Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, and all spices into a bowl. Rub in cold butter to fine crumbs. Add dark brown sugar — stir. Add treacle and beaten egg — mix with a knife then bring together with hands into a firm dough. Flatten — wrap and chill 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / Gas 5. Line three baking trays.
- Roll chilled dough on a floured surface to 4mm. Cut out gingerbread men with a 12cm cutter. Place on trays — re-roll trimmings once.
- Bake 10–12 minutes until slightly deeper golden-brown and just firm when pressed. Cool on trays 5 minutes — transfer carefully to wire rack. Cool completely.
- Mix icing sugar with cold water 1 tsp at a time to a thick, pipeable consistency. Divide — colour as desired. Pipe faces, buttons, and decorations. Press in silver balls or chocolate chips. Leave to set 1 hour before storing.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these softer rather than crisp?
Yes — reduce the baking time to eight minutes and increase the brown sugar to 200g. Soft gingerbread biscuits are a matter of preference — the crisp version is the classic. Store soft gingerbread in a sealed container with a slice of bread to maintain the softness.
Can I use a different cutter shape?
Yes — stars, Christmas trees, hearts, and animals all work perfectly with this dough. The baking time stays the same for similarly sized shapes.
Can I make gingerbread houses with this dough?
Yes — roll the dough to 5mm for gingerbread house panels, which need to be slightly more robust than biscuits. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes until very firm.
Can I leave out the black treacle?
The treacle gives the characteristic flavour and colour — replacing it with golden syrup gives a lighter, less authentic result. If treacle is unavailable, golden syrup can be substituted but the character of the finished biscuit is noticeably different.
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