12 Days of Christmas Treats: Gingerbread Men

     What is more Christmasy than a gingerbread man?  Nothing.  Nothing is more Christmasy than a gingerbread man.  Except maybe a nativity scene.  Or a candy cane.  Or a nativity scene made out of gingerbread with all the shepherds holding candy canes.   I will let somebody else eat the baby Jesus...

      This recipe came from a book called Better Homes and Gardens Old Fashioned Baking Cookbook (1995 edition).  They are called "Ginger Kids" in there.  I'm thinking that may actually be less PC than gingerbread Jesus, so I'm going to call them Gingerbread Men (and Women).

Gingerbread Men  (And Women)
1/2 C butter
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C molasses
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 recipe Powdered sugar icing
 
In a large bowl, beat margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or till softened.  Add about half the flour.  then add sugar, molasses, egg, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.  Beat till thoroughly combined.  Beat or stir in the remaining flour.  Divide dough in half.  Cover and chill about 3 hours or till easy to handle.

Grease a cookie sheet, then set aside.  On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough in to 1/8 inch thickness.  Using 3 to 4 inch people shaped cookie cutter, cut dough into shapes.  Place 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet.  Bake in a 375° oven for 5 to 6 minutes or till edges are firm.  Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack.
 

Powdered Sugar Icing
1 C sifted powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
Milk 

In a small mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and vanilla.  Stir in 1 Tbs milk.  Stir in additional milk 1 Tbs at a time, till icing is smooth and of drizzling consistency.
Makes about 1/2 C.

Notes:
I added 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger to pump up the ginger in these a little bit.  Perfect!  Also, 1/2 C of the icing doesn't look like much, but I was able to do a whole batch of cookies and still have some left over, so unless you are going to be making a ton or using a bunch of icing this is just the right amount for this recipe.

Review:
This is a great one for the kids to help with.  They love the process and they love the result!