Gingerbread Men

I am choosing to write about the Christmas Day Gingerbread People today as a little trip down memory lane.  Today is my birthday, and many years ago (I cannot believe how many!) my mom and I made Gingerbread Men for my Kindergarten Birthday Party at school.  Back when you could take a treat to school to share with your classmates, and they were just gingerbread men (not people).  I am 99% sure we made our own stencil and cut out each cookie - no cookie cutter for us.  They had pink frosting decorations and in my mind they were the best gingerbread men ever!

These were kind of a rush job since we made them Christmas afternoon and I was about decorated and baked out.  We made several large cookies and a ton of small ones.  Next time they will just be the large cookies - they are much easier to decorate.  I finally made a small batch of royal icing for the decorations, but I did not take a lot of time for details.   I had not worked with royal icing before, so it was a little more stiff than I thought it would be.  I just quickly gave the tiny people dots for eyes, mouths, and buttons.

The cookies were good and had a very strong ginger flavor.  I would make this recipe again, using only the large cookie cutters and taking more time to decorate.  Be careful not to over bake, so they stay nice and soft.

These cookies are long gone, and I am looking forward to birthday cake tonight!  My favorite dessert I don't have to make! :)


Recipe from Cuisine at Home's Holiday Cookies.

Spicy Gingerbread People
Whisk together:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream:
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar

Blend in; Beat in:
1/4 molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugars until smooth.  Blend molasses in to butter mixture, then beat in egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.  Add half the dry ingredients, mix until nearly incorporated, mix in remaining dry ingredients.  Shape dough in to a disk, wrap in plastic and chill at least 2 hours before rolling out.

Roll out on floured work surface, to about 1/8" thick.  Cut out and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Bake 10-12 minutes at 350.
Cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to rack.  Decorate and store in airtight containers for up to one week.

Gingerbread Man