Gingerbread

Cooper received a book from his Nonna last month "The Little Gingerbread Boy" ('run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man' who eventually gets eaten up by a fox!) so I said we would make some gingerbread 'soon'. So for the last few days I have been being asked frequently "Mummy Cooper make gingerbread man" so I thought I had better get into it and so on Tuesday we did!

Here is some pretty serious rolling happening....



.....and some vigorous stamping with his great-grandmother Finch's gingerbread-man cookie cutter!




And some of the finished products!









The recipe was online at http://www.santas.net/gingerbreadmen.htm (not very clear - I didnt realise the icing sugar (confectioner's sugar) was for the icing later on so ours are quite sweet with that added in to the dough mix!!

3 and 1/4 cups flour
1.2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsulfered molasses
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 - 2 tsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325'
2. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, and cloves
3. Cream butter and sugar. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg and molasses and beat on medium speed until smooth.
4. Scrape down bowl and add flour mixture, blend on low speed until just combined -- do not over mix!
5. Separate dough into 2 balls and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
6. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll dough out to 1/4" thickness. With floured cookie cutters cut into shapes. Gather scraps and re-roll dough until all is used. Place on ungreased baking sheets about 1/2" apart.
7. Bake 9-11 minutes -- do not brown. Transfer to cool, flat surface and cool.

Preparing Icing:

1. Whisk sugar and milk until smooth but still liquid.
2. Add extra milk if seems dry.
3. Spoon icing into a pastry bag with small piping tip, or other icing dispenser.
4. Decorate as desired.