Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Man Cookies

4.86 from 7 votes

Sharing Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Man Cookies, a Disneyland Copycat recipe! They’re ultra soft, rich and perfectly spiced just like the ones you get from Disneyland Parks.

If you love Disney inspired recipes like we do, try my popular Churro Toffee recipe too!

Mickey mouse Gingerbread Man Cookies

Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Man Cookies

If you visited Disneyland Park between November 8th 2019 and January 6th 2020, you definitely know this cutie pie Mickey Gingerbread Man! He was one of the most sought after sweet treats this year. I tried my hand at re-creating the recipe and I am so happy with how it turned out. Soft, rich and perfectly sweet and spicy. Everything I loved about the Disneyland version. Hope you enjoy!

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gingerbread man cookies

What You’ll Need

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make Mickey Gingerbread Cookies at home! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for full details.

  • Butter- I use salted butter for my cooking and baking, but unsalted works fine too.
  • Dark Brown Sugar– Dark brown sugar has more molasses added to the sugar, so it’s darker in color and perfect for these cookies.
  • Molasses– Molasses adds that deep rich gingerbread flavor. Find it in the baking section of the grocery store.
  • Canola Oil– Oil is added as part of the wet ingredients of the cookie recipe.
  • Large Egg– For consistency, I use large eggs in my cooking and baking.
  • Pure Vanilla Extract– For best tasting results use pure vanilla.
  • All-Purpose Flour– The flour is part of the dry ingredients.
  • Ground Cinnamon– Ground cinnamon adds spice to the gingerbread cookies.
  • Ground Ginger– Ground ginger is another spiced added to gingerbread cookie recipes.
  • Kosher Salt- This coarse salt is commonly used in cooking and baking.
  • Baking Soda– Baking soda helps rise the cookies slightly when baking.
  • Vanilla Baking Melts– Look for the Ghirardelli white melts. They’re nice and easy to work with.
  • Chocolate Baking Melts– I use the Ghirardelli brand melts when available.
  • Green M&M’s- Use green M&M’s for the buttons. Any color works just fine.
  • Red Food Coloring– I used red food coloring to make the bowtie and cheeks.

How To Make Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Man Cookies

  1. To brown butter, place butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Swirl and melt completely. Butter will boil. Continue to swirl and cook until butter turns golden brown and brown bits start forming on bottom of pan. Once butter has a nutty scent and is deep golden brown, remove from heat and transfer to a heat proof bowl. Make sure you spoon out all little black bits from the saucepan. Let brown butter cool at least 15 minutes before using in a cookie recipe.
  2. When butter has cooled for 15 minutes, place in stand mixer and add dark brown sugar. Beat until well combined. Add molasses, oil, egg and vanilla beating until well combined. Slowly add flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt and baking soda. Mix until dough forms. Place half of dough in between two large pieces of parchment paper. Use rolling pin to roll dough out to a round 1/4 inch in sheet. Use Mickey cookie cutter to cut shapes. Remove top piece of parchment paper and transfer entire bottom piece of parchment and dough onto a baking sheet. Stick in the freezer while oven preheats, about 10 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. When oven is preheated, remove baking sheet from freezer and remove excess dough around cookie cut outs, just leaving the Mickey gingerbread Men. You also can carefully use a spatula to move the shapes to a different baking sheet, just be careful transferring. Bake for 5-6 minutes and remove from oven. Let cool completely on baking sheet.
  4. When cookies are cool, melt white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Let hot melted chocolate sit in bowl for a minute or two then spoon into a corner of a Ziplock Baggie. Twist top down and snip a very small corner of baggie so you can now use as a “pen.” Practice your skills on a paper plate or piece of paper before decorating your cookies. Outline the body with the white chocolate, then add little squiggles at the arms, legs and ears. Melt Dark Chocolate melts and spoon into the corner of a separate Ziplock Baggie. Twist top and snip a small corner of baggie to use as your “pen.” Add the eyes, nose and smile with the chocolate. Add a touch of red food coloring to the white melted chocolate to make pink and use the Ziplock Baggie method to add little pink dots at the corner of the smile. Create red melted chocolate and do the same Ziplock Baggie method to create a little bowtie. It’s basically two triangles filled in. Practice once or twice before going for it. Add a dot of white chocolate to the back of Mini Green M&M’s and add buttons on the front of the cookies. Let the chocolate set up and serve room temperature or chilled.
Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Man Cookies

Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Man Cookie Cutter

You’ll need to find yourself a Mickey Gingerbread Man Cookie Cutter. You can search on Amazon or I found mine on JB Cookie Cutter’s website. They’re on Instagram too.

brown butter

To make these gingerbread man cookies, you’ll start by browning 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) of butter. See my step by step photos HERE.

How To Brown Butter

  1. Place butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Swirl and melt completely. Butter will boil. Continue to swirl and cook until butter turns golden brown and brown bits start forming on bottom of pan. Once butter has a nutty scent and is deep golden brown, remove from heat and transfer to a heat proof bowl. Make sure you spoon out all little black bits from the saucepan. Let brown butter cool at least 15-20 minutes before using in a cookie recipe.
Mickey gingerbread man cookies

Once brown butter has cooled, place it into a stand mixer, along with the little bits at the bottom of the bowl. Add the dark brown sugar and beat until well combined, a bout 1 minute. Pour in molasses, canola oil, egg and vanilla mixing until well combined.

Mickey gingerbread man cookies

Add your dry ingredients up next!

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Place 1/2 of dough between two pieces of parchment paper.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick sheet. Remove top parchment.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Use your cookie cutter and cut through dough, making sure you’ve gone all of the way through. I give it a little shake along with pressing straight down.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

IMPORTANT STEP:

Transfer entire sheet of parchment and dough onto a baking sheet. Place into the freezer for about 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. When oven is preheated, carefully remove scraps of dough so just the cut Mickey shapes are on parchment and baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet completely.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

By baking the cookies for 5 minutes, you get an ultra soft gingerbread cookie, but NOTE, they are very fragile, so be very careful transferring them.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Be very careful transferring cookies to your decorating area. I recommend just sliding the entire sheet of parchment off of the baking sheet onto the counter…or you can use a large spatula to carefully move them.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

How To Decorate Mickey Gingerbread Cookies

For the icing, I used the Ghirardelli White melts, Dark Chocolate melts, food coloring and some mini green M&M’s.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Melt you white chocolate first in a microwave safe bowl. Once melted and smooth let sit for a minute or two then place into the corner of a Ziplock baggie. Snip a small (very small) corner of the baggie so it becomes like a pen for you to decorate. TIP: Practice on a paper plate, how to keep your hand steady. I did a couple practices before I went for it on the actual cookies.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

What If I Mess Up?

You will probably mess up, it’s totally fixable! If you notice that you goofed during this icing stage, you can quickly wipe off the chocolate and try again. I did this a number of times, so don’t get too frustrated with yourself. We’re not professional bakers, lol!

I started by outlining the body then went in with the squiggles. You want to do all of the white before moving on, this way you are not having to melt more white chocolate.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

For the buttons, I used some Mini Green M&M’s with a little of the white chocolate on the back to stick. You can absolutely use food coloring in your white melts if you’d rather. Both just fine!

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Melt your Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate melts in a microwave safe bowl and when melted and smooth, let sit in the bowl for a minute or two before transferring to the baggie. Place melted chocolate (you don’t need much for the eyes, nose and smile) into a corner of a Ziplock Baggie and snip a small piece of baggie corner off, to use as your “pen.” Again, practice the eye shape and smile on a paper plate before doing it on your cookies. Helps to feel confident before going for it! Again, if you mess up, carefully wipe off the wet chocolate and try again. No biggie.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

With the chocolate, add the eyes, nose and smile. Add a touch of red food coloring to some white melted chocolate to make Pink and add two little dots to the edges of the smile! I added the pink chocolate to another Ziplock Baggie and snipped the corner just like the white and dark chocolate. Add another drop of red food coloring to the pink so it’s more red and add a little bow-tie. This takes just a little practice on a paper plate. It’s basically two little triangles filled in. You can do it!

Gingerbread Man Cookies

Another fun tip for you, chill your cookies!  They become even more chewy and delicious!

Gingerbread Man Cookies

So excited for you guys to try these! Don’t be scared about the decorating. With just a little practice (paper plate or even piece of paper) you’ll get the hang of it in no time.

Is There Another Option If I don’t Want To Decorate Fancy?

If the decorating scares you, try spreading the chocolate on the top 1/3 of the cookie. You can even still add the M&M buttons. Looks cute with minimal effort.

Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Man Cookies

Tips

Don’t substitute any of the ingredients or steps. The brown butter really makes this recipe.

How To Serve

Serve these festive cookies at your Holiday parties, they’re a huge hit!

How To Store Leftovers

Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Try More Disneyland Copycat Recipes!

Gingerbread Man Cookies
4.86 from 7 votes

Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Man Cookies

Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Man Cookies inspired by my favorite cookies sold at Disneyland during the Holidays 2019-2024!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 220kcal
Author: Jenny
Cost: $40
Print Pin Rate

Equipment

  • Oven
  • baking sheet
  • stand mixer or large bowl
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • Rolling Pin
  • parchment paper
  • baking sheet

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 sticks salted butter equals 12 tablespoons or 3/4 cup
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 bag Ghirardelli White Vanilla Melts
  • 1 bag Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melts
  • 24 Mini Green M&M’s
  • Red Food Coloring

Instructions

  • To brown butter, place butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Swirl and melt completely. Butter will boil. Continue to swirl and cook until butter turns golden brown and brown bits start forming on bottom of pan. Once butter has a nutty scent and is deep golden brown, remove from heat and transfer to a heat proof bowl. Make sure you spoon out all little black bits from the saucepan. Let brown butter cool at least 15 minutes before using in a cookie recipe.
  • When butter has cooled for 15 minutes, place in stand mixer and add dark brown sugar. Beat until well combined. Add molasses, oil, egg and vanilla beating until well combined. Slowly add flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt and baking soda. Mix until dough forms. Place half of dough in between two large pieces of parchment paper. Use rolling pin to roll dough out to a round 1/4 inch in sheet. Use Mickey cookie cutter to cut shapes. Remove top piece of parchment paper and transfer entire bottom piece of parchment and dough onto a baking sheet. Stick in the freezer while oven preheats, about 10 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degree F. When oven is preheated, remove baking sheet from freezer and remove excess dough around cookie cut outs, just leaving the Mickey gingerbread Men. You also can carefully use a spatula to move the shapes to a different baking sheet, just be careful transferring. Bake for 5-6 minutes and remove from oven. Let cool completely on baking sheet.
  • When cookies are cool, melt white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Let hot melted chocolate sit in bowl for a minute or two then spoon into a corner of a Ziplock Baggie. Twist top down and snip a very small corner of baggie so you can now use as a “pen.” Practice your skills on a paper plate or piece of paper before decorating your cookies. Outline the body with the white chocolate, then add little squiggles at the arms, legs and ears. Melt Dark Chocolate melts and spoon into the corner of a separate Ziplock Baggie. Twist top and snip a small corner of baggie to use as your “pen.” Add the eyes, nose and smile with the chocolate. Add a touch of red food coloring to the white melted chocolate to make pink and use the Ziplock Baggie method to add little pink dots at the corner of the smile. Create red melted chocolate and do the same Ziplock Baggie method to create a little bowtie. It’s basically two triangles filled in. Practice once or twice before going for it. Add a dot of white chocolate to the back of Mini Green M&M’s and add buttons on the front of the cookies. Let the chocolate set up and serve room temperature or chilled.

Nutrition

Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 262mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2mg
Keywords: best gingerbread man cookie recipe, gingerbread man cookie cutter, gingerbread man cookie recipe, gingerbread man cookies, gingerbread man cookies recipe, how to make gingerbread man cookies, mickey mouse gingerbread man cookies

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mickey mouse gingerbread man cookies

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31 Responses
  1. Gail

    I’ve never had the original Disneyland gingerbread. Does the one at the park have white chocolate brushed on the back as someone mentioned?

    Thank you! Can’t wait to try these!

    1. Amanda

      I know some of the ones at Disneyland have a glaze on the back. So I mix heavy whipping cream and powder sugar and dip the back.

  2. Tere

    5 stars
    I formerly worked in the disneyland bakery, one crucial step that is missing that will likely balance out the flavor of the molasses is to brush the bottoms of the cookies with melted white chocolate. This helps to keep the cookie intact and adds great texture to an otherwise soft cookie! Also correct on brushing the tops with the simple syrup glaze, this helps the choco decorations to stick.

    To those having a hard time piping with chocolate, add your melting chocolates in a piping bag and microwave a few seconds at a time, massage the bag to evenly distribute the melted choco. Repeat until the choco is hot and let it cool in the bag, when its just above warm to touch you can snip the smallest hole possible and pipe! It takes practice but you can make it work 😉

    I’ve yet to make these but am excited to as they were the best gingerbread cookie I have tried and got to snack on broken pieces when I worked there! I was only a finishing/plating person so I never saw or made the actual recipe and have been thinking about them since lol

  3. Greg

    This recepie says to roll out the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper and cut it “before” removing the top piece? Will a cookie cutter cut through parchment paper? When do you remove the “bottom” piece of parchment paper? Before baking? After? If after, I imagine you keep the bottome piece of paper on the bottom while baking?

    1. Jenny

      Remove top piece of parchment before cutting with cookie cutter. You will place only the cut cookies onto cookie sheet that has parchment lined. Let me know if you need anything else. Happy to help.

  4. Jasmine

    Hi Jenny! Do you have the recipe and steps for adding the glaze like they do from Disneyland? Thank You & Happy Holidays!

  5. Kristen Stewart

    5 stars
    I am writing this review as hover in the kitchen, eagerly waiting for the last batch of cookies in the oven. Like another reviewer mentioned, we couldn’t get our gingerbread Mickey fix at the parks this year (they were sold out almost immediately!), so I decided to make them at home. When I tell you this is the best gingerbread cookie I have ever had…! I ate 2 before they had fully cooled! Trust the recipe and the process and you will not be disappointed!

    Jenny, this recipe is magical! Thank you! ❤️

    1. Brittany

      4 stars
      These were perfect texture. But they were too molasses-y for me. I just had the Mickey gingerbread last month. It was close but a little too strong of flavor. I iced them but it still wasn’t quite the same. Maybe I should try it with light brown sugar? Less molasses?

  6. Maggie

    5 stars
    Hands down the best gingerbread cookies of all time. I couldn’t get my hands on an “authentic” Mickey Gingerbread cookie while in Disneyland – and I tried this recipe as soon as I got home. While I can’t compare it to the original – I can confidently say that this recipe produces the best gingerbread cookie that I’ve ever had (and that’s coming from someone who has sampled many recipes). Even my cookie loving husband – who genuinely dislikes gingerbread – and begs me not to make them during the holidays – LOVED this recipe and said it makes his top 3 favorite cookies of all time!
    Thank you Jenny!!
    – Maggie from WA

      1. Mikaela Camozzi

        I made this recipe last Christmas and they are amazing! This year I was deciding if I can store the dough in the freezer for a couple of days before I bake them, would this affect the cookies when I bake them?

  7. EastcoastGal

    5 stars
    Tried them in December and loved them. They are soft to eat but I made them in a smaller size so I had no issues with them being “floppy”. Will keep this recipe in my favourites.

  8. Rachel

    5 stars
    These are SO amazing!! If you wanted to give them to family and friends as gifts, what do you suggest is the best way to package them? They are so soft and fragile, easily breakable.

    1. Jenny

      These are very soft, so I would look on amazon for little cardboard sheets to put them on and then wrap in cellophane. My other gingerbread man recipe can be packaged by themselves, but these are very soft and would need a sturdy back before individually wrapping 🙂

  9. Lindsey

    Gave these a try last night. They are DELICIOUS and very soft (unfortunately they break easily, but it’s not the worst thing in the world). However, I have absolutely no idea how you managed to use white and dark chocolate melts for piping. Chocolate melts down to a super runny, dipping consistency — it’s nowhere near thick enough to actually pipe, no matter how tiny a hole you cut at the end of the bag. I ended up just using royal icing, and chocolate royal icing for the face. Also, my gingerbread men came out a much lighter brown color than yours (more like traditional gingerbread) but that might just be the lighting. Thanks so much for this great recipe!!

  10. Heather Holm

    I’ll have to try this recipe! I got one at Disneyland this past Christmas and I fell in love! I noticed on the gingerbread men in Disneyland had some type of clear glaze on the top. Do you have any idea what that might be?

      1. Emily

        What size cookie cutter did you get? They have a couple of different sizes on the website. (2in, 3in, 4in, 5.5 in)

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