Gingerbread People
Light and crisp with balanced spice, these not-too-sweet gingerbread people are ideal for kids to decorate.
Ingredients
all-purpose flour
3 cups
ground ginger
2 teaspoons
ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon
ground cloves
¼ teaspoon
baking soda
1 teaspoon
salt
¼ teaspoon
unsalted butter (softened)
8 tablespoons (1 stick)
packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup
large egg
1
molasses
½ cup
Confectioners' Sugar Icing (recipe follows)
Instructions
1
Whisk
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
2
Mix
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in the egg, then add the molasses. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture just until incorporated and the dough begins to clump together. Gather the dough into a ball, then divide in half. Press each half into a disk, wrap separately in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm enough to roll.
3
Preheat
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
4
Roll and cut
Working with one disk of dough at a time, roll out on a well-floured surface to just under 1/4 inch thick. (If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, dust it with flour.) Cut out cookies using assorted person-shaped cutters. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets with a thin metal spatula, spacing them about 1.5 inches apart. Gather the scraps into a ball, chill the dough if necessary, and repeat rolling several times.
5
Bake
Bake the cookies about 11 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until the edges are lightly browned. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for a few minutes.
