What could be better than festive spiced Gingerbread Men? That’s right, Gingerbread Men dipped in chocolate!
With winter in full swing, these Chocolate Gingerbread Men combine all the nostalgic flavours of this time of year, from cinnamon to ginger, with a rich chocolate coating. I actually used ginger-flavoured dark chocolate to spice things up a notch, but any chocolate will do the trick!
The gingerbread biscuits are crunchy yet slightly tender on the inside, with undertones of honey and almond butter. The best part is that these chocolate-coated gingerbread men are so much fun to make and decorate, both for children and adults.
Feel free to use a a variety of different shaped cookie cutters to make these treats even more exciting, and get creative with the toppings too! Don’t worry if you don’t have cookie cutters – just roll these into balls and then flatten slightly into cookie shapes with your hands.
These make the most adorable Christmas/Chanukah gifts, either on their own or alongside a batch of my homemade Coconut Almond Granola or Nutty Cinnamon Granola!
Chocolate Gingerbread Men (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
This recipe was developed in collaboration with Meridian Foods.
Ingredients
Makes about 30 small gingerbread cookies
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- 1 egg (or flax egg for vegan option)
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- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
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- 1/4 cup almond butter
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- 4 tbsp honey (or molasses)
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- 4 tbsp dairy-free butter (softened)
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- 1 tsp vanilla extract
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- 1 heaped tbsp ground ginger
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- 1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
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- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
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- 1/8 tsp salt
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- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup gluten-free flour
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate (I used Seed and Bean Ginger Chocolate)
Method
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- In a large mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously beat together the softened butter, egg (or flax egg), honey, vanilla and almond butter. Then add the sugar, salt, spices and baking soda and continue to beat together very well until fully combined. Alternatively, use a cake mixer on low.
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- Add gluten free flour to the wet ingredients and use your hands (yes your hands!) to work the dough together until completely combined and form it into a ball. You can add 2 tbsp milk of choice if necessary to help it bind.
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- Wrap the ball of dough in cling film and place in the freezer for one hour.
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- Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and pre-heat the oven to 175 C. Cut the ball into two halves for ease of rolling.
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- Use a rolling pin to roll out the first ball dough to about 4-5mm thick between two sheets of greaseproof paper or cling film. Remove the top sheet and use gingerbread cookie cutters (or any shape!) to cut out shapes. Place the cookies on the lined baking tray and repeat wit the second ball of dough. Bake for 8-10 minutes, then leave to cool.
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- Once cooled, melt the dark chocolate and dunk the cookies in as much as you want – perhaps just the legs, the top side of the body or even the whole thing!
- When the chocolate has set, decorate with icing / sprinkles / toppings of choice. Store covered at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze for longer term storage. The batch should make about 30 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter / or if you decide not to cut them and roll them into balls.
If you give this recipe a try, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @elibrechernutrition – I LOVE seeing all your recreations!
For more festive recipes, check these out:
- Cranberry Christmas-Spiced Granola
- Chocolate Sticky Toffee Cups
- Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream
- Cacao, Coconut & Quinoa Clusters
- Vegan Nut Roast
- Festive Vegan Gluten-Free Biscuits
