Cookie of the Week!-Gingerbread men

Wow, am I behind. Sorry about that out there. Well you all know how this time of year can get just crazy, and over here it has. I swear there is something everyday. And the kids and I were on the road on and off for the last 4 days straight. Yikes! And it's not even Christmas yet!

Well, I have never made Gingerbread cookies before, and at Adam's urging we did. I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures of them, but they did turn out really fun. Even the kids ate them!

So here is the recipe that we used. The trick is to keep the dough cold until you are ready to use it. We found that this worked great. Oh and to make sure that your cookie cutter is properly floured. You don't want to do through all that work and then have it stick when you cut it out. We just decorated them with a simple powdered sugar and milk icing. It did run a bit, but pretty much stayed in place. All right so when I went back to find the recipe we used, I couldn't find it. But this one was very similar!

Happy baking!

• 3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

1 In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

2 In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

3 Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons".

4 Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Makes 16 5-inch long cookies.