Christmas Treats

STYLISH GINGERBREAD KIDS



Equipment

• Mini cookie cutters
• Garlic press
• Straw
• Wooden skewer
• Pastry wheel
• Butter knife

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• Sanding sugar and miniature candies, for decorating

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg; mix well. Beat in molasses, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add flour a cup at a time, mixing until incorporated.
2. Divide dough into quarters; shape into disks, and wrap into plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.   

From rolled-out dough, use a cookie cutter to cut out about 20 kids; place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and set aside. Then cut out additional kids from the remaining dough to use for making clothes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks in top and bottom third.

With a butter knife, cut out skirts, pants, shirts, and shoes; try a pastry wheel for ruffled hems. For patterned clothes, press a mini cookie cutter halfway into the dough; use a wooden skewer to make polka dots.

 

Set out the first set of gingerbread kids, and then arrange the clothes that you've just made on top of them. Place the clothes lightly; they will stick to the bodies when you bake the dough in the oven
 

Using the scraps of dough that are left from steps 1 and 2, cut out small shapes with mini cookie cutters. A teardrop-shaped cutter makes pleats for a skirt. A bunch of stars can form a stylish pair of shorts.

Place more of the leftover dough in a garlic press, and squeeze to create strands of hair. Arrange into curly mops or long straight locks (trim with knife if you like). You can even shape a single strand into a smile.To make eyes take a staw and poke a hole through left over dough. Pinch the bottom of the straw, and push out the dough to use as eyes.

Refrigerate 20 minutes. 

Bake cookies, two sheets at a time, 7 minutes; rotate pans top to bottom and front to back, and continue baking until cookies are firm when touched, about 6 to 8 minutes more. Let cool on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely

 



Add sanding sugar, candy-coated chocolates, and other sweets for faces, buttons, and jewelry; attach with dabs of icing. A pastry bag with a plain tip makes drawing with icing easy.

Enjoy.