Classic Gingerbread by Rachel

Cookies have taken over the blog!  What's a holiday cookie care package without your classic gingerbread. I've always love gingerbread, but had never tried to make it.  After making it, I've definitely learned to appreciate it a lot more.  The work and time it takes to cut out each little man perfectly is something I had severely underestimated!

And you know what else?  The dough is REALLY sticky.  BUT!  Despite these nit-picky little things, gingerbread is, indeed, delicious and is a must-have for a holiday cookie melange!

Ingredients

1 stick of butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup of molasses
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour (plus extra when you are ready to roll out your dough)
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp of salt

makes about 3 dozen thin gingerbread men

Definitely takes a lot of different ingredients to make gingerbread!

- Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and salt and set aside.  The mixture should smell amazing and like gingerbread (duh!).

- In a separate bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter until it's fluffy- this should take about 3 minutes with a standing mixer on medium speed.

- Add in the egg and let it incorporate fully before then adding the molasses.  Let the molasses get mixed in, then slowly add in the dry mixture.  Your dough should be a dark, amber, gingerbread color!  It should also be pretty thick and sticky.

dough should look like this!

- Split the dough into two portions and wrap them up separate in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour (but you can leave it in there for a few days).  Separating it into two just makes it easier to roll out and manage later.

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

- When you're ready to roll out, make sure that you have your flour nearby because rolling out that sticky dough will be impossible without it.  Make sure that you generously flour both sides of the dough before you start to roll it out.  As you roll this out, make sure to check both sides of the dough to make sure that it's not sticking to your surface.  It should be loose on your surface.  If you start to see it stick, RE-FLOUR.  Don't be afraid to use the flour.

- If you don't add enough flour and it becomes too sticky to manage, just mash the dough back together, knead it a few times, then re-flour it to roll out again.  It's okay.  Just breathe.  Flour it again, and again and roll it out slowly, stopping to flour in between to make sure that it's not sticking to the surface.  Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick (you can make them thicker if you want a chewier cookie, but I like them crispy so I roll them out thinner).

- Now, the fun part!  Cut out as many gingerbread men as you can.  Place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

- Bake them for about 9-10 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before moving them.  If you don't wait, they'll be too pliable and you may misshape your gingerbread!  Letting them cool before moving them to a cooling rack will ensure that they are nice and flat.

Awww!!  They are holding hands :)

- Decorate if you want, but I love them just the way they are.  For my care package though, I did decorate a few of them by adding buttons with some melted white chocolate.

Eat and enjoy!  Another delicious holiday cookie!