Men of Ginger

Years ago I was working in a dive shop in Honduras.  Christmas was coming, and the small grocery stores on the tiny island did not carry much in the way of American baking supplies.  Luckily, I was able to find the ingredients to make gingerbread men.  I had no rolling pin, so I filled a 2 liter soda bottle with water and rolled away.  I had no cookie cutters, so I used a paper template and traced the men out with a knife.  I took the cookies to a very grateful crew of dive staff who were from many different countries.  Some people did not know what they were, but a young man from France got excited at the site of my crudely made cookies.  “I know these!” he said.  “These are the men of ginger!”…. and so they were, and have been ever since!

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 3 large eggs
• 1 12oz bottle of molasses
• 9 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt

Prepare Dough:

• In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and molasses.
• In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.
• Stir flour mixture into butter mixture.
• Divide dough into thirds and wrap each third in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least an hour.  Overnight is best.  Dough will last several days in the refrigerator.

When ready to cut and bake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Roll dough to 1/8 inch thick
• Cut into shapes with cookie cutters
• Bake about 8-10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets until crisp but not dark
• Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute then remove to wire rack or brown paper bag to cool completely before decorating.

Use my Royal Icing recipe to frost.