On the Seventh Day of Christmas...Gingerbread Men

Guess what!  Today is my mom's birthday!  She is 62 years young and is happy to be collecting social security. Woo hoo!  I took the day off work to spend time with her and she was gracious enough to help me make some gingerbread men.  

Moms, all ready to bake.  Doesn't she look so cute?

Gingerbread Men
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mccormick-gingerbread-men-cookies-2/detail.aspx
Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons  Ground Ginger
• 1 teaspoon  Ground Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon  Ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses (I chose the mild molasses)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions

1. Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured work surface. Cut into gingerbread men shapes with 5-inch cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are set and just begin to brown. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate cooled cookies as desired. Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days.

I cheated and used a Wilton's white frosting tube with a round tip.  


Something you need to know about my mom was that she was not the "baking cookies" kind of mom.  She made bars and cakes and other assorted treats but did not have the patience for the cookie, especially if there was rolling involved.  And now I see why.  Rolling cookies is hard!  


Tips:  We originally laid flour out on wax paper and attempted to roll out the dough.  That didn't work because the paper kept moving with the roller.  We eventually put flour right on the counter top and started rolling away.  Also, quick, short rolls work best.  Something else to keep in mind, rather than cutting out several "men", do a few at a time, then re-roll and cut more men until you have no more dough left.  And when you cut into the dough, wiggle your cookie cutter around to make sure you're cutting through all of the dough.  You'll find that as you keep rolling, the dough will be more workable.  


I've found that with gingerbread men, you either like them or you don't.  I happen to like them so I would say this is a pretty easy recipe to make.  My hand mixer took a shit on me so I mixed these by hand and it still was pretty easy.  Not only was the recipe simple, it was a good recipe.  It had nice flavoring.  I was very impressed and glad that I didn't run into any problems.  

Join me tomorrow when I attempt Chocolate Crinkle Cookies


Thanks, 
Jules