Ah yes, nothing quite says Christmas like gingerbread. And with my tendencies towards both irrational fits of rage and emotional eating there is nothing quite so satisfying during the holiday season as angrily biting of the head off a cute little gingerbread man….I kid, I kid….sort of.
One of my biggest complaints about most gingerbread recipes is that the end result is often hard and crunchy. Now gingersnaps are great, but personally I prefer my men to be softer and chewier, and thanks to the extra molasses in this recipe, these are. I have included vegan options for this recipe as well.
Ingredients:
Yields about 2 dozen men
*Don’t forget — you will need a cookie-cutter if you want shaped cookies!
– 3/4 c. butter or butter substitute, such as Earth Balance
– 1 c. white sugar
– 1 egg (or 1/4 c. applesauce, plus 2 tsp. oil for vegan)
– 1/4 c. plus 1 Tbsp. unsulphered molasses
– 2 1/4 c. flour
– 1 tsp. baking soda
– 2 tsp. ground ginger
– 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– whatever you want to decorate with — frosting, sprinkles, and dried fruit pieces are all great options!
Directions:
1. In a large bowl cream together butter (substitute) and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy
2. Add egg (or applesauce and oil) and mix well
3. Mix 1 Tbsp. warm water with 1 Tbsp. of molasses, then add to bowl. Add remainder of molasses and mix well
4. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix well.
5. Scrape down edges of the bowl with a spatula and form into a large ball as well as you can. Cover bowl with cling film and place in the refrigerator to chill and firm for 1 hour or longer.
6. Preheat oven to 350F
7. Remove dough from refrigerator. Working in sections, roll out a piece of dough on a clean, lightly floured work-surface
8. Use cookie cutter to cut dough. Place cut-outs onto an ungreased baking sheet
9. Return dough scraps to remainder, reshape, and repeat step 8 with all of the dough
10. Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes.
11. Remove from oven. Allow to cool on sheets at least 5 minutes before transferring to towels or a rack to finish cooling
12. Once cool, decorate, and enjoy! — You can see that my gingerbread-decorating skills could stand a little improvement… 🙂
theindiehomemaker 