Did you use up all of your molasses making my chewy ginger cookies but still want to make some gingerbread men for a holiday treat? Well, this recipe may be the one for you! It uses no added molasses but lacks nothing in terms of deep flavour, colour and snap.
Perfect for decorating, these gingerbread cookies can be used to make a homemade gingerbread house or simply cut out with cookie cutters and enjoyed all season long. They’re simple to make and really fun, as well.

How to Make Gingerbread Men Without Molasses
This recipe is on the simpler side for a cookie recipe, but it doesn’t mean it lacks anything! The first step (as you will do in countless cookie recipes) is creaming the butter and sugar. Make sure you start with room-temperature butter – this is going to make everything much quicker.
If you’ve forgotten to soften your butter before you want to start, I highly recommend avoiding the microwave – it heats it unevenly and doesn’t soften it well.

What I do recommend is cutting the butter into pieces and then laying it out on a plate. It should be soft enough to use after about 10-15 minutes depending in the ambient temperature of the room.
This is something I do pretty much every time I bake because I rarely remember to take the butter from the fridge!
Add the butter to a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment) along with some dark brown sugar and honey.

The dark brown sugar already has molasses content in it, so you will get a bit of that flavour. The honey is a stand-in for added molasses, as it will keep the cookies moist and pliable.
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for a few minutes – just until light and fluffy.
Then, go ahead and scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in an egg yolk and some vanilla extract. Mix this just to combine.

Now, mix together your dry ingredients. Add some flour, baking powder, bi-carb soda and salt to a medium mixing bowl.
I also like to add in a touch of cocoa powder. This ensures that we get the dark colour that you would otherwise get if you were adding molasses. The amount I call for doesn’t add a chocolaty flavour in the slightest.
Then, add in your warm spices – you can use whatever mix you’d like, these just happen to be my favourite. Even pre-made pumpkin pie spice would work fine!

I like adding ground ginger (the only real necessity here), cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg (always freshly grated) and black pepper for a touch of heat. Whisk these into the flour.
Then, add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture and mix on low just to incorporate the flour – be careful not to overwork here!

Scrape the dough from the bowl, pat it into a disc and then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour, but you can make it up to 2 days in advance!
Once chilled, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently and evenly roll out the dough. You can now cut the dough into any shape you’d like!

Try to maximise the space with your cutters to avoid too much of a border between shapes. If you want, you can collect the scraps of your cuttings, pat them into a disk, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about half an hour before rolling out again.
I wouldn’t recommend doing this more than once, however, as you can easily overwork the dough.

Move the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet and then bake in a 180°C/350°F oven. You want the cookies to be dry and crisp around the edges but still quite soft in the middle (they’re firm up as they cool!). This should take about 8-10 minutes, but it will depend on the size of your cookies.
Remove them from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the tray for at least five minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. After that, you can go ahead and decorate them, if you wish! My easy cookie icing is great for these.


Gingerbread Cookies Without Molasses
Ingredients
- 100 g (½ cup) unsalted butter room temperature
- 150 g (¾ cup) dark brown sugar
- 75 g (¼ cup) honey
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 250 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking/bi-carb soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5 g (1 tbsp) cocoa powder (see note 1)
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp nutmeg freshly grated
- ¼ tsp black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, add the butter, brown sugar and honey. Mix on low speed just to combine. Scrape down the bowl and beaters, then increase the speed to medium and beat until, light, airy and creamy – about 2-3 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg yolk and vanilla. Beat again until incorporated.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg and black pepper.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined and no dry spots of flour remain.
- Scrape the dough onto some plastic wrap and pat into a disc. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour a work surface. Remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out the dough until it reaches an even 5mm (¼in) in thickness.
- Use the cookie cutters of your choosing to gently punch out the shapes, assuring that space is used as efficiently as possible to avoid too many scrap pieces. Pull away at the borders (see note 2) and, using a spatula, gently lift the cookies and place them – with about 1cm (½in) of space in between them.
- Move the trays to the oven and bake until the cookies are crisp around the edges but still soft in the middle – about 8-10 minutes. Allow them to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack and cooking completely (see note 3).
Notes
- The cocoa powder is included here solely to achieve the dark colour associated with gingerbread. It does not impart any kind of chocolatey flavour. If this is not something you have on hand, it can be omitted, just note the finished cookies will look relatively pale.
- The scraps can be gathered, patted into a disc, wrapped in plastic and chilled for at least 30 minutes before re-rolling. I recommend only doing this once to avoid overworking the dough.
- If you plan to decorate the cookies with icing, ensure they are completely cooled before doing so.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Making gingerbread cookies without using added molasses is super easy and fun! Spicy and crispy, these are the perfect cookie to bake for the holiday season.
Do you want to make some homemade gingerbread men? Have any questions about this recipe? Let me know in the comments!
