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I love baking cookies, I’m no Bridget, and my cookies may not be works of art, but they’re yummy.
For most people, the sugar cookie is THE definitive cookie of Christmas baking and Decorating, and I do love a good sugar cookie, but aside from sugar cookies, I don’t think any cookie (for me) is more synonymous with Christmas than the Gingerbread Man.
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I don’t know if it’s the ingredients themselves, the collective smell of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg wafting through the house as the cookie dough is being readied for baking…
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or the feel of the cookie cutter in my hands, or the shape of the cookies, but there’s just something about gingerbread men that just makes it feel like Christmas has arrived.
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I don’t think any Christmas Cookie Decorating party is complete without gingerbread men cookies to decorate. There’s something about these little people that unleashes the creativity in kids (and brings out the kid inside every adult)
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Traditionally, at least in my experience, while the gingerbread men are the first decorated…
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They’re usually the last eaten – at least by the kiddos.
I love the spicy bite that traditional gingerbread men cookies have, but most kids’ palates aren’t.
The past couple of years I’ve been playing around with gingerbread cookie recipes trying to find one mild enough for the kiddos, yet still appealing to adults, this year – every single gingerbread cookie was decorated AND eaten! I call that success
What is this magical recipe you ask?
Kid friendly gingerbread men cookie recipe.
Ingredients
- 3/4 C PACKED Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 stick (1/2 C) butter, softened
- 2 Eggs
- 1/4 C Molasses
- 3 3/4 C sifted, all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Measure out 3 1/2 C of all purpose flour and sift into a bowl. Spoon the flour into measuring cup(s) do NOT PACK!! Once you have 3 3/4 C flour measured out, pour it into a separate bowl and add in the nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Sift these ingredients together until fully combined and set aside.
- In your stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until thoroughly combined, add in the eggs and molasses and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients 1 C at a time until it's all been added and mixed in. You may have to forgo the mixer and use a wooden spoon.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap; place in the fridge until firm, about 45 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°F
- Remove the dough from the fridge and let sit while you line cookie sheets with parchment paper, flour your work surface lightly and dust your rolling pin with flour.
- Using 1 C of dough at at time, roll the dough out on your floured surface until it's 1/8 to 1/4" thick - depends on you.
- Use your favorite cookie cutter, cut out your gingerbread and place on parchment lined cookie sheets.
- Bake about 8 minutes, or until they just begin to brown on the edges.
- Place on wire racks to cool.
- Use your favorite icing recipe, or this one from Bridget
The Seasonal Seven by McCormick: While we all enjoy many festive dishes during the holidays, trend data shows that just seven flavors provide the true taste for the most sought-after recipes.This Holiday, McCormick is calling them the “Seasonal Seven” – cinnamon, nutmeg, poultry seasoning, ginger, sage, vanilla, and peppermint. These spices, herbs and extracts are a true taste of the holidays, providing you with an unforgettable meal to celebrate festive occasions.
My time, talented and participation as one of the McCormick Seasonal Seven ambassadors has been compensated and I have received product for my use in creating recipes and sharing my thoughts and photographs with y’all, my thoughts and opinions are, as always, 100% my own and not provided to me by anyone else.
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1 comment
I am a single father and I do not really cook a lot, however, your recipe sounds lovely and it’ll be fun for my son. I’m gonna give it a try.