Gingerbread men

    Growing up we would always dedicate a day to Christmas treats every December. My sister would make molasses cookies, my brother (or my mom and I if he didn't want to participate) would make chocolate crinkle cookies, and I would choose a different type of cookie or other kind of treat to make almost every year. So, when I say I have never made gingerbread men before that's real saying something! This season I thought it was really time for me to give them a try. 

    The reason I never really made gingerbread men was because my mom told me they were really hard and we also didn't really want to buy the necessary cookie cutter. That made going into my gingerbread adventure very daunting and I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out. However, after doing this, I'm ready to make a whole gingerbread house from scratch! They were so much easier than I expected them to be. I did find out afterwards that the recipe I put together makes about three dozen so you can imagine the insanity that resulted from an accidental six dozen gingerbread men. My kitchen aid was a little overwhelmed! This combined with the fact that I currently only own one baking sheet (I asked for more for Christmas so hopefully this problem won't linger) made the process take a VERY long time. Luckily, it was totally worth it!

    I researched recipes and found out that gingerbread is a mix of gingersnaps and molasses cookies, so I started the baking chaos by creaming soft butter and brown sugar. I then added molasses and vanilla and let it mix. Once it was very well mixed and fluffy I added my flour and spices. I do not recommend doubling this recipe unless you have a large mixer. I have the "standard" size kitchen aid and at this point it was spilling over and making a huge mess! I tasted the dough to make sure I had enough ginger (what is gingerbread without ginger??) and when I was satisfied about the texture and taste I popped it in the fridge for 2 hours to make it easier to handle. This step is important because if you don't let it chill it might not cook correctly and it makes it almost impossible to roll out without the dough sticking to the rolling pin. 

    Once the dough was chilled, I rolled out the dough bit by bit until it was my desired thickness. I don't measure my thickness ever but if you make this make sure you don't roll it too thin because that can cause the cookies to caramelize a bit and turn into something closer to a gingersnap. If you do want small/thinner gingerbread man just reduce the baking time by a minute or two. 

    These do spread a bit in the oven so I like to use my cookie cutter to refine the shape a bit while they are still warm. If you do this make sure the cookies are still warm because you can cause them to crack if they are too cool. Don't worry though, the "crusts" that I take off while reshaping do not go to waste! This may sound crazy but I discovered that the crusts and whatever bits of cookie that break make a great kind of cereal! I know you may think that is super sweet and unhealthy, but what sugar cereal isn't? If anything it might be better than the lucky charms or peanut butter cups that some people eat most mornings. 

    While my gingerbread men were cooling I made my royal icing. I did this by mixing together water, powdered sugar, and meringue powder. If you want you can color it by using the tiniest bit of food coloring but I like my gingerbread men with white frosting. 

    Of course, piping these took forever, but the more you decorate the faster you get! It is also the perfect activity to do with friends and family around the holidays! You can use this same recipe to make gingerbread houses! All you have to do is cut out a different shape out of the dough and use thicker royal icing as the "glue" to your walls. 

    Gingerbread are so delicious and so so fun to make! How did this recipe work for you? Leave me a comment!