Gingerbread men!

Yesterday I decided to make gingerbread cookies for the first time yesterday, we were all feeling "Christmassy" (sp?) so I thought, why not? It was more time consuming than I thought it would be but it was pretty easy...

So... here I am sharing my gingerbread men cookies and recipe with all of u... STEP BY STEP

Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

For the cookies:
* 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
* 2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
* 1 large egg
* 3/4 cup unsulfured molasses

For the icing: (Royal icing)

* 3 1 egg white
* 2 cups of confectioners sugar
* 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside:



2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy:






3. Beat in egg and molasses:



4. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; mix just until combined:



5. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days, or freeze up to 3 months (thaw before baking):





6. Working with one disk at a time, place dough on lightly floured parchment paper, and roll out to 1/8 inch thick, dusting lightly with flour as needed:



7. Using paper, lift dough onto two baking sheets; freeze until firm, about 20 minutes:



Note: While the dough is in the freezer preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks set in upper and lower thirds.

8. Remove paper and dough from baking sheets. Using a long offset spatula, loosen dough from paper. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters, and brush off any excess flour. Transfer to baking sheets. (Gather scraps, briefly freeze, and re-roll.)



And now let's make the royal icing:



1. Using an electric mixer (high speed) mix the egg white until stiff but not dry:



2. Add the confectioners sugar and the tbsp. lemon, mix well in low speed.(You can add more sugar if needed for desired consistency -if the icing is too runny-)



3. Transfer icing to a pastry bag with a small tip, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and snip a small hole in one corner.


And now... Bake and decorate!

1. For softer cookies, bake 8 to 10 minutes; for crunchier cookies, bake 11 to 12 minutes (in the preheated 350F oven), rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate cookies as desired, and store in a single layer in airtight containers.



There you have it! Perfect gingerbread cookies to share with someone you love while drinking a hot cup of coffee!