Gingerbread Men

Hello guys! First things first. I want to wish you guys happy winter holidays! 

It's been a while. A long long long while. I am so sorry for not updating, maybe some other time, when I feel the right words, I will share my thoughts on this matter. But not today! Because it is holidays and no one is interested in lyrical digressions. And honestly, after half a year break I have a feeling like I am writing a post for a first time - I don't know where to start at, I don't have the right words and I feel like I am a first-former without knowing an alphabet.

I haven't been baking lately except for my date sweetened oatmeal cookies, that became a must on my kitchen, and occasionally some birthday cakes for my relatives. And to be honest, I wasn't planning Christmas baking this year. But as it turned out, I couldn't imagine winter holidays without baking. It just didn't feel right! I literally had an urge to bake, bake, bake. 

What does smell like Christmas? Bingo! Gingerbread Man. I've been baking gingerbread every Christmas. And it even never occurred to me that I can share the recipe, because it seems that everyone knows it, even children. But these cute little gingerbread men are so good! The recipe always works well, it is easy and fun to make and the smell...they smell like Christmas!

Notes

- You can make the dough ahead and keep it for a few days in a refrigerator.

- Also, you can make a whole in the top of the unbaked cookies using a wooden skewer or a small round piping nozzle as I did.  Then your baked cookies can be used to decorate a Christmas tree.  

- The time of baking can vary depending on how do you like your gingerbread men - soft and chewy or firm and crunchy,

- Though , if you are planning to use gingerbread as a decoration for a Christmas tree, I recommend baking them a few minutes longer to have a firmer cookie, so that it doesn't fall apart.

- I give two recipes for royal icing - the one with fresh egg whites and the other with egg whites powder. You can choose whatever you like, I don't find there is a big difference between them. 

GINGERBREAD MEN 

GINGERBREAD

400 g all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

100 g butter, room temperature

100 g sugar

1 egg

100 ml molasses

1. Whisk together flour, spices, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

2. In a bowl of the stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, beat in the egg and molasses.

3. Divide the dough into two parts, wrap each into a plastic wrap and refrigerator for at least two hours.  

4. Preheat the oven to  180° C (350 degree F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Roll out the first half of the dough (the second half keep in the refrigerator to prevent it from softening) on the lightly floured surface to the thickness of  about 5 mm (1/4 inch) and cut out the cookies. Transfer the cookies on a baking sheet and refrigerate for another 10 minutes, this will prevent the cookies from losing their shape.

6. Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on the desired firmness (see Notes). Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer on a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate the cookies when they are completely cool.

ROYAL ICING

-with fresh egg whites

1 egg white

1 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

food colouring (if desired)

Beat the egg whites with lemon juice until combined. Add powdered sugar and beat until completely smooth. Add food colouring and beat until dissolved. 

-with egg whites powder 

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp egg whites powder

3-4 tbsp water

food colouring (if desired)

Combine powdered sugar and egg whites, add water and beat until smooth. Add food colouring and beat until dissolved.

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