What does a gingerbread man put on his bed?

I once answered this question with “a gingerbread woman?” but the correct answer is… cookie sheets! Ah, cookie jokes.

To add to the four kinds of Christmas cookies I already made, I decided to make gingerbread cookies today. This recipe is easy and makes a lot of cookies. Also, it’s low fat. Not something I usually look for in a cookie recipe, but hey, bonus!

First, I had to go to 3 different stores to find molasses. I’m not sure if the stores are the problem, or if I just couldn’t find it. It might be me.

I mixed all the wet ingredients together, and at this point, I admit it does not look very appetizing. But this soupy mess will become delicious cookies, I promise.

What I like about this recipe is that it only uses one bowl. I’m a messy baker, so the less dishes to wash, the better! Dump in all the dry ingredients.

Mix until it looks like graham cracker crumbs.

Take big handfuls and squeeze into weird, flat, squished ball shapes. Refrigerate while you have a snack of corn chips and guacamole. Well, that’s what I did, but whatever makes you happy.

Roll out the dough and cut out whatever shapes you like. Keep adding flour so it doesn’t stick.

I used stars, trees and of course, gingerbread men!

I made baby gingerbread with the dough I had left and stuck them in with the stars, hoping they wouldn’t burn.

Bake and decorate! I iced the cookies with a simple frosting of icing sugar and water, to wich I added some meringue powder. I added it so the frosting would set and the cookies wouldn’t all stick together. I tried to keep all the cookies on the trays, but they ran away from me and took over the table!

Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup shortening or butter

1 1/2 cups dark molasses

2/3 cup cold water

7 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

Mix wet ingredients with sugar. Add dry ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Roll dough 1/4 inch thick and cut out shapes. Bake at 350 for 6 to 7 minutes.

Enjoy!