With Christmas break right around the corner, many holiday parties filled with good food and friends are in store. These homemade gingerbread men are super fun to bake together and deliver as gifts or simply enjoy with a holiday movie and a glass of eggnog.

Ingredients

• 10 Tablespoons (145g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup (200g) unsulphured molasses
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 and 1/2 cups (437g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• Easy Royal Icing to decorate

Directions

1. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium high speed until combined and creamy-looking. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Next, beat in egg and vanilla on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The butter may separate; that’s ok.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves together until combined. On low speed, slowly mix in the dry ingredients until combined. Divide dough in half and place each onto a large piece of plastic wrap. It will be quite sticky, but that’s ok for now. Wrap each up tightly and pat down to create a disc shape. Chill discs for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. (It is optional to line your baking sheet with a silicone baking mat during this step, but it can easily be done without!)
4. Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin. Don’t be afraid to continually flour the work surface as needed- this dough can be sticky. Roll out disc until 1/4-inch thick. Cut into shapes. Place shapes 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Re-roll dough scraps until all the dough is shaped. (I only used one baking sheet, so I cooked quite a few small batches. However, it is perfectly ok to put multiple sheets in the oven at once.) Repeat with remaining disc of dough.
5. Bake cookies for about 9-10 minutes. If your cookie cutters are smaller than 4 inches, bake for about 8 minutes. If your cookie cutters are larger than 4 inches, bake for about 11 minutes.
6. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Once completely cool, decorate as desired.

Enjoy!