Gingerbread Men

Some years ago, my mother-in-law gave my kids The Gingerbread Baby book by Jan Brett along with a gingerbread cookie cutter and darling crocheted gingerbread men.  They were so excited to create their own gingerbread men, but admittedly I had never made them before myself.  Together we discovered this recipe, which seems to be the perfect amount of ginger, molasses and cinnamon creating a soft cookie.  The lemon icing gives it the perfect sweetness rounding it all out.  We've been making them ever since!

Gingerbread Men

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses, water and vanilla, then gradually add in flour mixture until a smooth dough forms. Divide dough into two or three pieces (dough will be quite soft), cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm. Preheat oven to 375F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to just under 1/4 inch thickness. Use a 2-3 inch gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut dough. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on size of cookie cutter. Cookies should be slightly firm to the touch at the edges. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

When cookies are cool, decorate with lemon icing.

Lemon Icing

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsp tsp lemon juice

In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice. Add enough lemon juice to make the icing thick enough to squeeze out a piping bag, but not too runny where is will slide right off the cookie.  Start with 1-2 tbsp and add more if necessary. Scrape into piping bag with a fine tip or a ziploc bag with a corner cut off and pipe onto cooled cookies. Allow to set for at least 30 minutes, until firm, before storing cookies in an airtight container.