Ginger Bread Man Recipe
4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp ginger — or more to taste
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup light molasses
Icing
1 egg white
2 cups sugar
In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice & cloves. Set this mixture aside. In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and molasses thoroughly. Stir in the flour mixture, and mix until well combined. Form this dough into four balls with hands. Wrap these in waxed paper or plastic storage bags and refrigerate for at least 5 hours. Make gingerbread-man shaped design or use a cookie cutter. Preheat your oven about 5 minutes to 375
Remove only one ball of dough at a time, to work with, cold dough is easier to work. Press currants into the dough for eyes and buttons… Make a mouth with tip of knife, cutting into a smiling shape. Bake about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool completely make about 2 dozen cookies.
Hints
For softer cookies, remove from oven sooner. For harder, crisper cookies– leave in the oven about 1 minute longer.
Icing
1 egg white
2 cups sugar
In medium bowl, beat the egg white with the sugar, adding sugar gradually. When all the sugar is added, add one tbsp of water. Beat until the mixture is smooth and stiff. Using a pastry bag with a tip or use a zip lock bag with the tip cut off.
If you need to thicken icing a little more, add a touch more sugar and beat again to desired consistency
Ginger Bread cookies
Ingredients 6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions
Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, until they are completely absorbed. Divide dough into 3 pieces, pat down to 1 1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When the cookies are done, they will look dry, but still be soft to the touch. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks. When cool, the cookies can be frosted with the icing of your choice.






