Gingerbread Men

This recipe makes a fine bunch of irresistible men…gingerbread men, that is. Not too crunchy and not too soft, these are just the right consistency and the perfect balance of spices. So let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup molasses
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted (plus additional 1 -1 ½ cups of flour, as needed, to form a workable dough)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment. Set aside.
• Add sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix on low speed until well combined.
• Add softened butter, evaporated milk, and molasses. Mix again until completely combined, starting on the lowest speed so that the liquid doesn’t splash out of the bowl. Gradually increase the speed until the butter and sugar are creamed together and completely smooth.
• Put the mixer back on low speed and add 4 cups of flour (one cup at a time), stirring constantly until the flour is completely incorporated.
• The dough should be stiff enough to handle without sticking to your fingers, so if it’s still too soft and sticky, add additional flour (½ cup at a time), just until a fairly stiff dough comes together.
• When the dough is smooth, roll it out to ¼-inch thickness on a very well-floured surface. Use a cookie cutter or a round biscuit cutter to cut the gingerbread into desired shapes. I used a small gingerbread man cookie cutter, approximately 3-inches in diameter.
• Place shapes onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden brown but still soft. Make sure that you don’t bake them for too long or they will become hard and crispy. To maintain the soft, cake-like texture, pull them out of the often while they’re still soft and let them firm up slightly while they cool.
• Allow cookies to remain on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Grab a cold glass of milk and enjoy! 🙂

Recipe Source: The Seasoned Mom website