Directions: |
Directions:Mix together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter and brown sugar in bowl of electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla and beat well.Gradually add in flour mixture on low until well mixed. In plastic wrap, press dough into a flat disc and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. This allows the dough to take on the complex flavor of gingerbread.
Roll out to 1/4 in thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into gingerbread men shapes with a cookie cutter and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in a preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes until beginning to brown. If you go the higher amount, or even 1 minute longer, they are crisper, if you go the lower end, they are chewier. Cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or two and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
To decorate, you can use any of the ornamental frosting recipes, but I usually put several cups of powdered sugar into a bowl and squirt a good tablespoon or more of light Karo, along with just enough water to make a stiff but spreadable icing. I usually start with a spoonful of water, mix, and add more as needed. If icing gets too thin, just add more powdered sugar.I put this in a squirt bottle designed for icing, and squeeze on dots for eyes and buttons, and color in his feet. This icing must be thick and stiff enough to dry, but thin enough to come out of the bottle. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: These cookies are at the heart of my Christmas baking. Every year, I bake them and if I am lucky enough to have any left after my family devours them, I give them as gifts in cute little gingerbread bags. One particular Christmas, I made a tray of assorted cookies, with my gingerbread men being the centerpiece. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my nephew ate the heads off most of them! Seriously, these cookies are so traditional and old-fashioned, that anyone lucky enough to get these must be on your "A"list.
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This recipe for Holiday Gingerbread Cookies is from