If you're a fan of spooky season, then these Halloween Skeleton Gingerbread Men are perfect treats to make and enjoy! You may be surprised to learn that they are made with no food colouring. The black dough is created by using black cocoa powder, which is a rich dark colour with a smooth chocolate flavour. The chocolate combines with the ginger for a lovely warming flavour. These biscuits are great fun to decorate too and if you're baking with the kids they can have fun personalising their skeleton people!
Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information
- You can use either unsalted butter or a baking spread to make the biscuit dough, but either way it should be used cold.
- If you don't have black cocoa powder, you can use regular cocoa powder plus some black food colouring.
- Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento and ginger. If you can't get hold of it, you can use a pumpkin spice mix instead.
- I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can for these biscuits, but caster sugar will work well too.
- Golden syrup is sold all over the world, so check the international section in your supermarket if you're not based in the UK. You can also buy it online from Amazon (see link below). If you can't get hold of it, you can substitute it with light corn syrup, maple syrup or honey, please note I've not tested this recipe with these substitutions.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Halloween Skeleton Gingerbread Men
To make the dough, stir the plain flour, ground ginger, mixed spice, salt and light brown sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and use your fingers to rub in into the flour mixture. Then add the egg, vanilla extract, golden syrup and black treacle and mix to form a dough.
Roll the dough out onto a well floured surface and cut out your gingerbread man shapes (or other shapes of your preference). Place the shapes onto a lined baking tray and chill them for 15 minutes in the fridge (this is optional but it does help them keep their shape). Then bake the biscuits for 12 minutes. Let them cool on the tray before decorating with icing.
What is black cocoa powder?
Black cocoa powder is a type of cocoa powder that has been heavily Dutch processed. This means that the cocoa beans have been washed in a potassium solution, this neutralizes their acidity and makes the cocoa powder darker in colour. It's great for colouring food as it does not stain your skin when handling or eating it. The colour may remind you of Oreos, which are chocolate flavoured cookies that are very dark in colour.
Can you make these gingerbread men without black cocoa powder?
Yes, if you can't get hold of black cocoa powder then you can replace it with regular cocoa powder and add some black food colouring to obtain the dark black shade. I recommend using a good quality food colouring from a brand like Pro Gel or Sugarflair. You may also want to wear gloves when handling the uncooked dough so that you don't end up staining your skin.
Can this recipe be made gluten or dairy free?
Yes! For gluten free you can replace the plain flour with a gluten free plain flour blend. I also recommend adding ¼ tsp Xantham Gum for better texture. For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking spread instead of butter.
How long do the gingerbread men last and can they be frozen?
The gingerbread men biscuits will last for 1 week stored in an airtight container in a cool place. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Freeze them in a freezer bag, a tupperware container, or wrap them well in cling film. You can also freeze the dough before rolling it out, wrap it well in cling film and freeze for up to 3 months.
Do you need any special equipment to make these biscuits?
You can make the dough completely by hand, but if you have a food processor it does make it a little easier and quicker. For rolling out the dough you will need a rolling pin, I also like to use a silicone mat to make clean up a little easier. To bake the biscuits you will need some baking paper and some baking trays. And of course you will need a gingerbread man shaped cookie cutter!
More tips for making the Halloween Skeleton Gingerbread Men:
- You can cut the dough into any shape you like. Other shapes that would work well for Halloween are bats, skulls or grave stones.
- If you are using a metal cookie cutter, to stop it from going rusty wash it in warm soapy water, then pop it in a warm oven to dry it out.
- I decorated the gingerbread men with a simple water icing, you could colour the icing with food colouring, or add sprinkles, or even get creative with royal icing!
Troubleshooting
If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
- Mixing bowls
- Baking trays
- Cooling rack
- Kitchen scales
- Rolling pin
- Food processor
- Piping bags
- Black cocoa powder
- Gingerbread man cutter
*I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!
More Halloween recipes...
Halloween Skeleton Gingerbread Men
Ingredients
For the gingerbread men
- 275 g Plain flour
- 50 g Black cocoa powder see notes
- 1 tbsp Ground ginger
- 2 tsp Mixed spice
- 150 g Light brown soft sugar
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 100 g Butter or baking spread unsalted, cold
- 1 Egg large
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract optional
- 85 g Golden syrup
- 15 g Black treacle (molasses)
For decoration
- 75 g Icing sugar
- ¼ tsp Vanilla extract
- ½-3/4 tbsp Water add slowly
Instructions
- Put the plain flour, black cocoa powder, light brown soft sugar, salt, ground ginger, and mixed spice into a large mixing bowl and stir them together
- Add the butter in chunks or cubes and use your fingers to rub it into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Or you can use a food processor to do this
- Next add the egg, golden syrup, black treacle and vanilla extract. Stir them into the mixture until a dough forms. Try not to over work the dough
- Roll the dough out onto a well floured surface using a rolling pin. Move the dough around every few rolls to make sure it isn't sticking to your surface. Aim for a thickness of 3-5mm
- Using a gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out your shapes. You will need to re-roll the dough out to use it all up
- Lay the shapes out onto lined baking trays, and put them in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes
- While they're chilling, pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4
- Bake the gingerbread men for 10-12 minutes. It is hard to tell when they are done because they are black, they will look dry and not have any raw dough patches, but they will still be soft (they will firm up as they cool)
- Let the biscuits cool on the trays as if you remove them too soon they could break apart
- For the icing, mix the icing sugar with the vanilla and water, add the water slowly and mix until you have a thick pipeable paste
- Put the icing into a piping bag and snip a little off the end, then pipe the skeleton features onto the biscuits
- Store in an airtight container and eat within 1 week. They can also be frozen
Notes
- You can use either unsalted butter or a baking spread to make the biscuit dough.
- If you don't have black cocoa powder, you can use regular cocoa powder plus black food colouring.
- Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento and ginger. If you can't get hold of it, you can use a pumpkin spice mix instead.
- I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can for these biscuits, but caster sugar will work well too.
- Golden syrup is sold all over the world, so check the international section in your supermarket if you're not based in the UK. You can also buy it online from Amazon (see link below). If you can't get hold of it, you can substitute it with light corn syrup, maple syrup or honey, please note I've not tested this recipe with these substitutions.
Nutrition
If you like this, check out more of my biscuit & cookie recipes!
Or you might like my Halloween recipes!
I'm linking this recipe up with Cook Blog Share.
Ali
Oh my gosh these look amazing! I've not heard of black cocoa powder before but I'm going to have to find some now!
Nickki
I used to make these every Halloween with my boys when they were little - so fun! Love the effect of the black cocoa powder, it gives that "extra" Halloween vibe 🎃
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
Such a great idea!
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Eb!
desicart
Yum! This looks so delicious and tasty!
Natasha
I made these today. Recipe was amazing! Excellent as always 😊
Emily
I made these with my 3 year old, he was very excited to make spooky skeletons for Halloween. After tasting he said "deeeeelicious", I agreed 😊