Gingerbread Men

I shared a recipe for mini gingerbread about a month ago. This is the exact same recipe but instead of quartering it, I made it in its full form! The recipe is from Sally Fields' cookie book & it made about 100 four inch gingerbread men.

Start by creaming together 1 cup of softened butter and 3/4 cup of brown sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Mix in 1 egg and 1/2 cup of molasses.

Stir in 2 teaspoons of ground ginger and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Add in 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Finally, mix in 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour. Once your dough holds together, cut it in half.

Wrap each half of dough in saran wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour. If you've been reading for a while you may know that I really dislike waiting for dough while its in the fridge. I have never refrigerated this dough in the past and it always works out just fine. However, this time, I had multiple things baking in my kitchen at once. So, I was able to put these in the fridge and turn my attention to something else and come back to this after an hour. They did hold together a little better after an hour in the fridge - so I actually recommend it! :)

Once the dough is out of the fridge, roll it out to be about a 1/4 of an inch thick. Then use cookie cutters to cut your cookies out - I used a 4 inch gingerbread man cookie cutter.

Lay your cookies out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I hardly leave any space between these cookies, because they spread very little.

Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit - I always put mine in for 10 minutes.

If you would like to decorate your cookies, mix 2/3 cup of confectioner's sugar and 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk together in a small mixing bowl until it is well combined. Prepare a piping bag with a small tip and fill it with icing, then decorate!

GINGERBREAD MEN
yield: about 100 cookies
ingredients
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses

for the icing...
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

directions
1. Cream butter and sugar together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix in the egg and the molasses until well combined.
2. Stir in cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt until well incorporated.
3. Mix in the flour. When the dough begins to hold together, cut it in half, wrap each half in saran wrap and placed the wrapped dough in the fridge for at least one hour.
4. Once you dough is out of the fridge, roll it out to be about 1/4 of an inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out your cookies.
5. Place the cut cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. When the cookies come out of the oven, transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
7. While they are cooling, mix the icing sugar and milk together in a small mixing bowl. Prepare a piping bag with a small round tip. Load the icing into the bag and decorate the cookies! '

Let me know if you have questions!