12 Treats of Christmas: Spicy Gingerbread Men

I haven't made gingerbread cookies for SOOO long, in fact, I think it's been quite a few years since I did. This year, I decided they're a must! Christmas has always been a very exciting, special time for me. Of course, as a kid, toys were always a big part of that excitement, but they weren't the sole joy . For me it was many things; it was the cookie-making and decorating with Mom, the smell of potpourri, Santa visiting the house on the fire truck, the suspense of Santa busy downstairs in the living room and what great lengths Mom and Dad went to to make it so real! :-) Hopefully the taste, sight and smell of these cookies remind you of Christmases long, long ago too.


Spicy Gingerbread Men Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened (I did a second batch with shortening and they came out just as good!)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1.5 tsp ginger
• extra flour
• shaped cookie cutters

1. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy/fluffy. Beat in egg. Add molasses and mix until well blended.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda/powder, salt, and spices. Add to molasses mixture, about a third at a time, on low speed until a dough forms. (Dough may be sticky depending on how the flour is measured. Add a tablespoon or 2 if needed, but do not add much as you will work more in when rolling. My first batch was very sticky compared to the second and I didn't add any flour except when rolling out.)

3. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or overnight.

4. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch to 1/3 in thick. Work with half of the dough, leaving the rest chilled to prevent 'stickiness'. One trick to working with this dough is to roll it out a little at a time, re-flour your surface, and flip the dough, careful not to rip it. Otherwise, it will stick to the surface, no matter how much flour you put down. Putting tons of flour down will only work its way into the dough and make your cookies dry and hard. I put about a tablespoon of flour, rub it over the surface in a circular motion, and roll the dough a couple inches. The more you roll, the more likely the center will stick.

Once rolled to your ideal thickness, cut into shapes with cutters. I found that 1/3 inch thick made a nice soft chewy cookie. The thicker you roll, the less you have to worry about hard cookies. (THESE ARE VERY EASY TO OVER-BAKE!)

5. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven, 5-8 minutes. When I say 6-8, I really mean 6 and then add a minute at a time, checking, until cookies are puffy but firm. The difference of one minute in my oven made the difference between soft chewy cookies, and hard cookies on the chewy side. One batch I rolled to a little less than 1/4 inch and baked 8 minutes...they were more like gingerbread crackers. :-)

Let cool, and decorate.

Royal Icing

This recipe made more than enough icing, and iced1 & 1/2 batches of cookies. You could cut the recipe in half and have plenty. **Note: This is a classic, egg-white-based royal icing. While I see very little danger in recipes with raw egg whites, those who do may want to find a meringue powder-based recipe or a dry/pasteurized egg white recipe.

• 2 large/xl egg whites
• approx 3. cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice (if desired)
• 1/2-1 tsp vanilla (if desired)

1. In a mixer, beat the egg whites on med-high to high speed until stiff peaks form and it holds its shape. About 5 minutes, it will look like a stiff, frothy foam.

2. Mix cream of tartar into 2 cups of the powdered sugar in a small bowl or measuring cup. Beat sugar mixture into egg whites on med-low speed until incorporated, adding lemon juice and/or vanilla once blended. Once all is mixed together well, beat on high speed until icing becomes thick, creamy, and soft peaks form.

*(I usually do not measure p. sugar when making frostings, but use about 2 cups, and then add in more sugar, a little at a time, until the desired sweetness and thickness are achieved. For royal icing, you want it too be thicker/"heavier" than a buttercream, but still form slight peaks, as it will pipe on thick and dry hard. Think, cookie icing rather than cupcake frosting! The lemon juice is added to cut the powdered sugar taste/sweetness and to give it a nice tart flavor without it being overpowering or a lemon "flavored" icing.)

3. Transfer to a piping bag quickly as royal frosting will harden if left to sit. Place any extra in an airtight container and refrigerate until needed. If spreading onto cookies, cover tightly with plastic wrap when not in use. Decorate your cookies and don't forget to be creative! These are just a sampling of all the different ones I created. In addition to the ones pictured, I put one in a bikini...It was a Floridian gingerbread man!  :-)

Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas!

 Decorations...Some cute little candy chocolate covered sunflower seeds. They are perfectly small, like mini M&Ms. I found them at TJ Maxx. I find so much fun stuff there!

"Santa's" workshop

 German Gingerbread People. He's in his finest lederhosen!

Gingerbread Skeletons. I just felt it necessary :-)

All of the little helpers, a little blurry.

This guy stole some candy canes...and I think he got caught!

Photos by The Chocolate Cookie