Baking (gingerbread men)

We have a tradition of making gingerbread men every Christmas. We decided to do it yesterday. It was a lot of work, but it was also a ton of fun! I think it's hard to find a good gingerbread recipe, so I'll give you mine.

Ingredients:
1 cup molasses
1 cup of shortening
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda (dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water)
6 cups of sifted flour
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. ginger

Bring the molasses and the shortening to a boil and simmer 2 minutes. Let it cool. Cream egg, sugar, and vanilla. Add soda and water. Add all of the dry ingredients. Mix it well. Let it cool before you roll it. After it's cool roll it until it's 1/4 inch thick. Cut out the ginger bread men (I used cookie cutters) and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for eight minutes. After you take them out of the oven, quickly take them off the pan and place on a cooling rack. If you don't they will dry to the pan and be really hard to off. I usually double the recipe.

I decorate my gingerbread men with m&m's. You can also use chocolate chips.

We got creative and made some with sweaters, belts and jeans. We even made Santa with a beard. :)


I hope you enjoy them. They're delicious!