Gingerbread

Yield: 3 dozen men
Baking Temperature: 350°F
Baking Time: 8-12 minutes

Ingredients

3 C AP flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves (optional)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 TB butter, room temperature
1/2 C dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg
3/4 C molasses

Instructions

1. In large bowl, whisk together flour, spices, leaveners and salt; set aside.
2. Using electric mixer beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in egg and molasses.
4. With mixer on slow, gradually add drys until just combined.
5. Divide dough, flatten into discs wrapped in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours (or freeze).
6. Thaw before rolling.
7. Roll to 1/8" thick, cut into shapes, and in a preheated oven bake 8-10 minutes for soft or 11-12 min for crunchy cookies.

Ah, a seasonal recipe at last. I ended up giving away most of these little guys as a gift, which was well recieved (yay). I frosted mine using the frosting recipe from Sugar Cookies, partly just to see how they would come out, but frosting is totally optional. It's not hard, so don't limit yourself, but it doesn't really add a whole lot of flavor, just sweetness. The most important thing to note was how easy it was to roll these out. I tried a different recipe first and it was a huge struggle. This recipe is easy to roll! This makes a lot of gingerbread men so I cut them all out at once and put them on parchment paper for easy switching in and out of the oven.