The tradition of making gingerbread goes back to the early Middle Ages, and every European country has a traditional form with many variations in the spices. This dough must be chilled before rolling, but it is easy to work with. It makes crisp cookies that you can cut and decorate as Christmas trees or gingerbread people.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup molasses
  • 1 stick (4 ounces) butter at room temperature
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon white or black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • red and green frosting, raisins, silver dragees, sprinkles, crystalized cherries for decoration

Instructions

Lightly grease a 1/ 2-cup measuring cup and pour the molasses into it. Cream the butter and sugar together until it is smooth and light. In another bowl, mix the flour with the ginger, cloves, pepper, cinnamon and baking soda. Mix about half into the butter mixture. Pour in and mix the molasses, then finally, mix in the remaining flour mixture. Shape the dough into 2 disks or rectangles, wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours (or longer if more convenient).

When you want to bake the cookies, reheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil. Dust a work surface and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Working with one piece of the dough at a time (and keeping the other one cool), roll it out until it is 1/ 4-inch thick. Cut out gingerbread people (or other shapes) and transfer onto the prepared pans. If you like you can use raisins or silver dragees for eyes and buttons, slices of crystallized cherry for mouths, or dust with oven-proof sprinkles. Bake for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

If you want to tie the cookies on the tree, make a hole by wiggling a toothpick in them as soon as they come out of the oven. To frost the cookies, wait until they have cooled completely, then outline their shapes and make faces and buttons with red and green frosting. Makes 12-18 gingerbread people depending on the size of your cutter.