Can You Catch The Gingerbread Men?
Gingerbread men are made from gingerbread, a sweet pastry with predominant flavors of raw sugar and ginger. Gingerbread can be created into various forms, such as thin or chewy cookies and flavorful cakes, but among all these treats, nothing is more popular than gingerbread men. These cookies even inspired a fairy tale, The Gingerbread Man, that tells the story of a naughty runaway gingerbread man who met his demise between the teeth of a clever fox.
Gingerbread men are formed in the shape of a stylized human, with stubby feet and hands, but no fingers. Their faces are either made from candies and icing or are indented in the dough. They can also have other decorations like shirt cuffs, hair, shirt buttons and shoes. All these things make them a sweet and adorable treat for children and adults everywhere.
With the holidays coming, you must remember to whip up a yummy and tangy batch of gingerbread men to delight the kiddies. It’s easy to make these treats. Here’s how.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
One teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of butter
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of molasses
Frosting, icing, sprinkles and other candies for decoration
What You’ll Need:
Whisk or mixer (either a hand or electric type will do)
Mixing bowls
Cookie cutter
Parchment paper
Plastic wrap
Rolling pin
Wooden spoon
Cookie sheet
Procedure:
Get the dry ingredients, including the flour, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Mix them together in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Get the vanilla, butter, water, sugar and molasses. Mix them separately in a large bowl, using the whisk. If the butter is not soft enough to mix by hand, use an electric whisk.
Combine the two mixtures in a larger bowl, adding small amounts of the flour mix to the wet ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, mix them together slowly, until they turn into a soft dough. Don’t use the electric whisk when doing this though, or the flour might splatter out of the bowl.
Prepare the dough and divide it in half, covering the sections in Saran wrap or plastic wrap. Put these both in the refrigerator for at least two hours or until they become firm and hard.
Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit or 190° Celsius.
Now, you’re going to shape the gingerbread men. Using your rolling pi, flour your cutting board or counter top lightly before rolling out the dough. Make sure the dough is either 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch thick. Get your cookie cutters, then cut out the man shapes, placing them on your baking sheet. Recycle the leftover dough by rolling it out again and cutting more gingerbread men out.
Let the cookies bake for nine to 12 minutes, or until they’re lightly browned. Take them out from the oven, leave them on the baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer them to the cooling rack. Don’t try to remove them from the sheet immediately, or some pieces might become severed.
Once partially cooled, you can decorate your gingerbread men.
Decorating Your Men
Anyone would agree that the best part of making gingerbread men, or any type of cookie, is decorating and personalizing them. It’s exciting to use your imagination to create various designs on your homemade cookies. They’ll be so adorable, everyone will have a hard time gobbling them up!
Frosting and sprinkles are great when decorating gingerbread men, but you can also use royal icing. Use it to outline the cookies or coat it thinly all over the surface for a crunchy finish.
Here’s a simple recipe for your own homemade royal icing.
Ingredients:
Four cups of confectioners’ sugar
Three egg whites
One teaspoon of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar
Lemon, peppermint or vanilla extract (optional)
Things You’ll Need:
Electric mixer
Mixing bowl
Plastic bag or pastry bag
Procedure:
Whip the cream of tartar and the egg whites in the mixing bowl until foamy.
Sprinkle the sugar gradually, then add the lemon juice and extract. Continue whipping.
Keep beating the mixture for five to seven minutes on high speed, until it creates stiff, glossy peaks.
Transfer to a pastry bag, and use to draw on the gingerbread men.
Other Decorating Tips
Aside from royal icing, frosting and sprinkles, you can use various items to decorate your gingerbread men. For example, raisins or black candy can be used for the eyes or buttons, while red licorice can be the lips. You can be very particular with details, and add in designs like dimples and jewelry on the sweet biscuits. Here are a few more decorating tactics you can try.
To attach candies to your cookies, dab some royal icing or drop a bit of corn syrup on the cookie first, so they’ll hold in place.
Dust powdered sugar over the cookies, for a sweeter taste and cuter look.
Use a small paintbrush or a toothpick to paint details on the treats.
Let your kids join in the fun by allowing them to help decorate the gingerbread men. You’ll be surprised at the great designs they’ll come up with.
Here’s a video with more tips and ideas:
How To Decorate Gingerbread Cookie
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Sweet Fun With Gingerbread Men
Nobody can deny the fun gingerbread men bring to holidays. Whether you’re cooking them or gobbling them up, these sweet treats are definitely worth having. So what are you waiting for? Get the kitchen ready for some gingerbread men action!