“Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me—I’m the gingerbread man!”
Never have I desisted in being of utmost fascination with these cookies and the lore behind since my first encounter with them, once long ago, in Mrs. Lowe's kindergarten class. In my 5 year old mind, cookies were tightly bound and sold in packets at stores, not fleeing from hungry people. The fact there could be a whole dimension of baked boys and girls escaping captivity seemed wonderfully intriguing. The lure of hunting a giant cookie boy whose legs apparently took him as far and away as the end of our school building kept me in search until the completion of grade school. That's where our story begins.
That I keep and read all seven illustrated books, originally for when The Two I begat were as small as these figures, with abandon even now, are proof of my ongoing love for the subject.
It took me years to make my own battalion of biscuit fellows, and now a Christmas doesn't go by without them.
The four dozen yield from effectively spiced dough, with ginger- root, its' powder and a generous amount of molasses create a warmth, reminiscent of confections past. Bursts of zest infuse the same to bring about well balanced refreshing flavor.
Softened butter provides a generous chew-on-bite followed by a surprisingly plush interior.
Know in advance that these are also as unfussy as a formed cookie can get. And if you leave aside the cutter part, a ruler and knife can accomplish a straightforward bunch of geometric shapes beautifully sans the load of scraps.
Further, when you whip up a batch of royal icing you can doll your guys and gals in a furor of colorful outfits and accessories.
A bonus here is that, post baking, your home needs no additional air freshener.
Ingredients:
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp finely chopped sugared ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
- ¾ cup softened salted butter, not melted
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
- Mix flour, baking soda, ginger, sugared ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, zest in large bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Mix in egg molasses and vanilla. Blend well.
- Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into two thick flat disks. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
- Unwrap one of the discs and place it on a lightly-floured surface.
- Preheat oven at 350°F.
- Roll dough out evenly, 1/8-inch thick on floured surface. Use cookie cutters or not, cutting into desired shapes. Re rolling dough as needed to cut out more.
- Transfer shapes to a baking sheet covered in parchment or silicon mat.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are crisp around the edges and on top.
- Remove from oven. Cool on baking sheet for five minutes, then cool completely on wire rack.
- Decorate cookies cool to room temperature if desired with the royal icing or dust with powdered sugar.
