The Gingerbread Man Cookies

This recipe is modified for a tropical climate. The original recipe requires immediate rolling after the dough has been made but our tropical heat just makes it gooey to handle.

Ingredients

5 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup margarine (butter compound)
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark molasses (use our locally made molasses)
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 egg

Materials Needed to decorate Gingerbread Man
Cherries for the lips
Raisins for the eyes
Chocolate candies (M & M’s)
Gingerbread Man shaped Cookie Cutter

Procedure

1. Place margarine and sigar in large bowl.
2. In saucepan, heat molasses to boiling. Pour over margarine and sugar, add vinegar.
3. Stir on speed number 2 until well blended.
4. Set aside to cool.

5. Sift dry ingredients together.
6. Add egg to molasses mixture and beat on speed no. 4 to blend.
7. Add dry ingredients and stir into molasses mixture on speed no. 4 until well blended- about one and half minutes.
8. Refrigerate overnight or freeze for an hour.

9. Get a small portion of the chilled dough and roll on well floured board to 1/4 inch thickness. ( Tip:I roll directly on the cookie sheet for easy handling of cut dough)

10. Cut with floured Gingerbread man shaped cookie cutter about one inch apart.

11. To decorate the Gingerbread man before baking

- Cut the cherries to make lips
- Cut the raisins in half for the eyes.

12. Place cherries for lips and raisins for the eyes.

(Tip: you can also put a hole on the head of the Gingerbread Man cookie if you want to hang it on your christmas tree. But with a dusty climate and possibility of cockroaches, I just wrap the cookie in plastic.)

13. Bake at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes.

14. Cool on brown paper for towelling.

Yield : 4 dozen to 4 1/2 dozens for a 4 inches (height) Gingebreadman

Decorating the Gingerbread Man

Icing for the buttons

3 Egg Whites (1/3 cup)
3 to 4 cups Confectioners Sugar
(this yields around 4 cups of icing which you can use for Christmas cookie decorating)

Procedure

1. Beat egg whites until stiff.

2. add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

3. Add confectioner sugar until well blended

For decorating tips:

1. Stick chocolate candies with the icing to form buttons
2. Ice the head for hat
3. Ice the feet for shoes.

After all the Gingerbread Men Cookies have been iced, I wrap them individually in ice-bag plastic and string them to our Christmas garlands that adorn our rooms in the house.

or place it in a bowl for the kids to grab some whenever they are hungry