Christmas Countdown: Gingerbread Men

I FORGOT to add the 1/4 c molasses ….sorry if this caused a problem..the recipe is fixed now….

I am making these in the next day or so, so will post pictures then..I am about to run to the store because our pantry seems to be oddly empty. I can’t imagine why…except that my kids seem to eat enough to keep a herd of elephants alive.

I love gingerbread, and gingerbread man cookies! The recipes I have used in the past have been borderline at best because they  were either very tasteless or very hard or something. they never had quite the flavor I imagined they would or should.

Now, I have a gift in that I can taste things in my head.  I guess it is kind of like the way my oldest daughter, Erin, plays the piano by ear.  She listens to music and then plays (she also has a voice that is incredible- operatic soprano with no training!) whatever it was.

I can think of things, flavors and what-not, in my head and know how they will taste together. It is cool. So, when I was thinking about how I thought gingerbread should taste I came up with these.  And…they are exactly as I think gingerbread should taste!

Let me know what you think.

 Gingerbread Men

1 cup dark brown sugar packed
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 c crisco (do not substitute)
1/4 c unsalted butter
1/4 c molasses
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 300F

Mix dry ingredients (not sugars) in bowl, set aside.

Cream wet ingredients (including sugars) together until fluffy and sugar crystals are pretty much dissolved.

Mix in dry ingredients until smooth.

Added this: For the first time ever I had to chill this dough before I rolled it out. I don’t know why but keep in mind that you may need to chill the dough about 30 minutes in the freezer.

On a heavily floured surface ( or a silpat sheet) roll to 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutter. You can poke small holes in the tops to string ribbon through ( after cookies are baked) if you want, so that they can be hung on the tree or just look festive.

You can bake them as is…or you can try this:
Mix 1 whole egg with a tsp of cream. Brush over tops of cookies and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Place on parchment, or silpat or cookie sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 300 for 15-18 minutes. Only bake one sheet at a time for the best results…the oven temperature needs to be very steady.

Allow to cool and decorate as desired. You may need to adjust time to get just the texture that YOU like.