Gingerbread is one of those irreplaceable childhood favorites for most of us! Gingerbread houses and gingerbread men are adorable and, well, delicious too! So, by taking some inspiration from one of my favorite characters from the movie Shrek, I have come up with this wonderful recipe to make your own Shrek Gingerbread Man, AKA Gingy! 

All of you who love Shrek might remember the interrogation scene between Gingy and Lord Farquaad! That is when Gingy says his iconic line, “Not my gumdrop buttons!”. Well, if I were in Lord Farquaad’s place, I’d probably end up eating the gumdrop buttons! 

Although it may be a little sad to eat one of your favorite characters, this Shrek Gingerbread Man is, surely, totally worth every nibble! (Sorry, Gingy!) Complete with the smile, broken legs, and gumdrop buttons, you can make your own version of Gingy right at home! 

Moreover, Christmas is about celebrating as much time with family as possible. So, if you are looking for a fun activity with your kids, there surely is nothing better than baking some gingerbread men, right? This recipe is the perfect trip down memory lane, returning to your childhood! 

This article will give you a detailed recipe for making Shrek Gingerbread Man at home. This article has everything you need to know, from the equipment to the ingredients and the method. So, let’s go ahead with the recipe before Lord Farquaad shows up! 

What Equipment Will You Need To Make Shrek Gingerbread Man? 

• Measuring Cups – Measuring cups ensure precision, which is vital in baking. A set of different sizes will do for this recipe. 
• Measuring Spoons – A lot of the ingredients in this recipe are added in very small quantities, for which a set of measuring spoons will be handy. 
• Bowl – For this recipe, three bowls will be required, out of which one has to be large and the other can be medium-sized. 
• Stand Mixer – It is very difficult to make gingerbread dough by hand and royal icing. So, a stand mixer is one piece of equipment that is mandatory for this recipe, along with a whisk and a paddle attachment. 
• Whisk – To whisk the wet ingredients together before adding them to the mixer, you will need a large whisk. 
• Spatula – A flexible, silicone, or rubber spatula will help you transfer the royal icing from one bowl to the other. 
• Spoon – A few regular kitchen spoons will be required for this recipe to mix in the food colors with the royal icing. 
• Rolling Pin – Before cutting the shapes of the cookies, we will have to roll out the dough, for which you will need a heavy and sturdy rolling pin. 
• Cookie Cutter – A medium-sized cookie cutter in the shape of a gingerbread man will be required for this recipe. 
• Plastic Wrap – Before rolling out the dough, you must wrap it up in plastic and chill it for a while. The plastic wrap will also be needed to cover the royal icing; otherwise, it will form a skin on top. 
• Parchment Paper – The gingerbread men will have to be placed on parchment paper and not directly on the baking tray; otherwise, they are likely to stick to the base. 
• Baking Tray – A large baking tray will be good enough for this batch of gingerbread men. 
• Piping Bags – Lastly, a set of sturdy piping bags will be needed to pipe out all the details with royal icing. 

How Much Time Will It Take To Make Shrek Gingerbread Man? 

What Ingredients Will You Need To Make Shrek Gingerbread Man? 

For The Dough : 

• All-Purpose Flour – For this recipe, 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour forms the base for the dough to get a yield of 12 gingerbread men. Don’t use any other type of flour, as they all have varying gluten contents that can affect the texture of the gingerbread. 
• Baking Soda – In this recipe, ½ teaspoon of baking soda will act as the leavening agent. 
• Unsalted Butter – It isn’t baked goodie if there’s no fat! ⅔ cups of room temperature unsalted butter, which is also cut into cubes, will add fat to this recipe. 
• Brown Sugar – Yes, we will be using ¾ cup of brown sugar for this recipe, not white sugar, due to its malty flavor and extra moisture content. 
• Egg Yolk – You will need a single large egg yolk to bring all the ingredients together in the dough. Don’t throw the egg white away, though! We will be using it for the royal icing. 
• Golden Syrup – Three tablespoons of golden syrup will help with the flavor and texture of the recipe. 
• Molasses – Two tablespoons of molasses will help add a malty flavor to the gingerbread dough. 
• Cinnamon And Ginger – It isn’t gingerbread without some spices! This recipe will need a teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and ginger. 
• Cloves And Salt – The recipe requires ½ teaspoon of ground cloves and salt. 

For The Royal Icing : 

• Egg White – The single egg white that you kept aside initially can be used to make the royal icing. 
• Powdered Sugar – You will need 1 ½ cups of sifted powdered sugar for this royal icing recipe. 
• Vanilla Extract – Finally, to get rid of the egg flavor in the royal icing, you will need ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. 

For Decoration : 

• Purple Gum Drops – It isn’t Gingy without the gumdrop buttons! 
• Gel Food Color – To give the royal icing some life, you will need a few drops of red and blue gel food coloring. Don’t use a liquid, as that will ruin the consistency of the royal icing. 

Steps To Make Shrek Gingerbread Man

1. Make The Dough

To make the gingerbread dough, separate the egg yolk from the white and keep the white aside for the Royal Icing. Now, combine the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda in the stand mixer bowl. 

Add the cubed pieces of unsalted butter, bit by bit. Mix with a paddle attachment until the texture resembles wet sand. Mix the egg yolk, molasses, and golden syrup in a separate bowl. 

Now, slowly add this mixture to the dough and butter mix and continue mixing until everything is combined. Once the dough comes together, please remove it from the stand mixer bowl and wrap it in plastic. Chill the dough for one hour. 

2. Roll And Bake

Firstly, line the baking tray with parchment and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After chilling your dough, take it out of the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. 

Now, start rolling the dough out while dusting just a little to make sure that the dough doesn’t stick to the surface. Once the dough has reached a thickness of ¼ inch, you can take the cookie cutter and start cutting out all the gingerbread men. 

Place them all on the baking tray lined with parchment. As an added touch, you can chop off the legs of one of the gingerbread men and bake them separately to look even more like Gingery! Bake the gingerbread men in the oven for 15 minutes, then take them out and let them cool. 

3. Get Royal With The Icing

While your gingerbread men are baking in the oven, you can prepare royal icing. In the stand mixer bowl, add the egg whites and mix them with the paddle attachment. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar to it. 

Also, add the vanilla extract and mix until everything is combined. Then, set half of it aside in a separate bowl and divide the other into two parts. Add a few drops of red food coloring to one and blue to the other. 

Mix and then add all three portions of the royal icing to separate piping bags. For piping, you can use a small nozzle tip if you would like to, or even pipe out directly from the piping bag, with just a bit of the tip cut off. 

4. Decorate! 

Finally, once the cookies have cooled down, you can begin decorating! Keep a picture of Gingery next to you as a reference to pipe out the royal icing. This way, there is no room left for error. Don’t forget to add the gumdrop buttons, and finally, go ahead and enjoy! 

Nutritional Information

Recipe Card

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Conclusion

Chewy, crunchy, and warm, all at the same time! These Shrek-inspired gingerbread men are the best homage you could pay to your favorite character! These are the perfect sweet treat to give as little holiday goodies! Moreover, although it may seem complicated to make this, it is a lot easier than you think and fun too!