Grandma Evelyn’s Gingerbread Men

Ingredients

• 4 cups of flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger (make sure it's good)
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp cinnamon (I added this)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup soft unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp corn syrup
• 1/2 cup light molasses
• For frosting: powdered sugar and vanilla extract

Equipment

• measuring cups and spoons
• bowl
• sifter
• rolling pin
• cookie cutters and knife
• cookie sheet
• wax paper or parchment paper

Here is how:

1. Sift the dry ingredients together into the bowl.
2. Make a well. In the well, beat with your hand, the butter with the sugar and then add the eggs. Beat again.
3. Add molasses and corn surup. Combine everything.
4. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
5. Roll out the dough. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or use a little knife in case you don't have the right cutter to carve out what you want.
6. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake in 350° F oven for about 12 minutes. If you like them a little tender, take them out when set, and if you like them crispy, wait for them to get a little color at the edges. Rotate cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back.
7. Mix a little water with enough powdered sugar to make a slghtly stiff frosting. (It needs to be able to come through a frosting tube, but you don't want it to be runny.) I add a drop of vanilla extract.
8. Make a pastry tube with wax paper or parchment and pipe on the faces and clothing. Don't restrict yourself to what people expect!