It’s Christmas time again, and what would the season be without mountains of cookies?  The weather here in North Texas has finally begun to show the season, with temperatures in the 40’s and of course, gusty winds that make it feel like the 30’s, so the weather is perfect for baking, so when I was asked if I wanted to get together with a few fellow food bloggers and try out 12 recipes from Gourmet Magazine’s list of all time favorite cookies, I jumped at the chance!

I don’t know about you, but when I think of Christmas cookies I think of gingerbread men. They just scream Christmas cookie, so for the first of my 12 batches, these little guys were the obvious choice.  I’m glad I chose them, too.  This is by far the best gingerbread recipe I think I’ve ever come across.  Which is as it should be.  They really knew their gingerbread in 1959, though the way recipes are written has (very thankfully!) changed a lot.

I’m not alone in making 12 different cookie recipes this month. Joining me in the fray for the 12 days of cookies are a list of very talented bloggers and cooks in their own right.  So please take the time to visit my partners in crime for this event. (Once you’ve read and printed out this recipe, of course!)  I have no idea what they’ve chosen to make today, so don’t be surprised if several of us have the same recipe posted.

The insane bunch that decided to taste test Gourmet’s top picks:

• Kelly of Sass & Veracity
• Ben of What’s Cooking
• Judy of No Fear Entertaining
• Claire of the Barefoot Kitchen
• Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench
• Courtney of CoCo Cooks
• And Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes, who first thought of inviting us in on this little blog party.

I’ve got to say, these are the best example of a perfect gingerbread I’ve ever had, but the dough is a little difficult to work with.  Instead of rolling them out and then moving them to a cookie sheet, we ended up rolling the dough out directly on a half sheet pan with a smooth sided glass and simply pulling the excess away from the cut shapes, thus preventing gingerbread men with serious and crippling deformities.  The dough is rather like glue as well, so copious amounts of butter flavored cooking spray should be employed wherever possible.

Yield: 24 cookies

Gingerbread Men Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2¾ cups cake flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground gloves
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 cup dark molasses
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 tsp allspice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Sift together flour, baking flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves ginger and salt. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well. Knead the wet mixture into the dry mixture until the flour has been worked in.
3. Divide the dough and roll each half into 1/3 inch sheets. Cut out gingerbread men with a floured cutter and transfer to a greased baking sheet. Leave a good inch between the cookies. (Note: a thicker roll will give you a moist gingerbread. A thin roll will give a crisp cookie. Make the kind you like!)
4. If desired, decorate with pieces of dried raisins, dates, cranberries and chopped nuts.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 13 minutes or until golden. (ours were done in 10, burned at 11.)
6. Finished cookies may be hung on Christmas tree if desired and store for a very long time. To hang on tree, simply make a hole in the little guy’s head with a skewer before baking. Just make sure it goes all the say through!
7. Share and enjoy!

Notes

Gingerbread Men (Adapted from Gourmet Magazine’s Favorite Cookies, 1941-2008. Recipe rewritten for legibility.)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 303Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 324mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 1gSugar: 29gProtein: 3g

Next time I make these (And there will be a next time, I’m addicted!) I’ll either use a sheet pan with no edges or I’ll roll the dough directly onto the bottom of an inverted 1/2 sheet pan then cut the cookies.  That will allow a little better control.

And don’t even think about w wooden rolling pin. Down that path lies nothing but tears.