Day 1: Gingerbread Men

Today is Day 1! I am so excited to start this journey and to share it with you all. The cookie of the day is Gingerbread Men! Gingerbread Men are so fun to make because they are extremely festive and they bring out my artistic side. These cookies allow for complete artistic expression and creativity so the decorations can be pretty simple or extremely elaborate (I would say my level of decoration skill lies in the middle of those two). I have always loved to make these cookies as well because they are a fun project to do with kids or friends. In the past, I held a Christmas cookie party at my house with my close friends and we decorated the gingerbread men. I was expecting beautifully designed cookies that my mom and I could serve at our Christmas dinner. Let's just say my friends were too creative in their designs. Also, we devoured them all before we finished decorating because they are so yummy. They are also a very special cookie because they really are only designated to Christmastime. It would be quite odd to bake a batch of gingerbread men in July.

Okay so now I am going to talk about what works for my mom and I when making these cookies. We make the dough before hand because it needs to refrigerate overnight. If it does not have time to cool, the dough will be too sticky and it won't roll out easily. When rolling the dough out, my mom and I use powdered sugar rather than flour because it is a sweet cookie so it should be rolled in something sweet! When it comes to piping the cookies, I whip up royal icing and use a piping bag with a small tip to get the thin, clean lines. The only down side to piping is how sore my hand gets afterwards so if you plan on piping them, make sure to have your hand masseuse on speed dial.

Now I promised professional pictures so here they are!

Oh hey that's me! This little guy was my favorite design of the day. His suspenders and bow tie make me super happy! If I say so myself, I did a pretty good job with him :)

 Here are some more of my prettier ones!

More of my boys!

I think they turned out very well. And they taste even better than they look! I hope you all keep following my baking adventure and enjoy what you have seen so far! Thanks and have a great last few hours of your weekend!

Recipe Adapted from Williams-Sonoma's "Holiday Baking" Cookbook.

Gingerbread Cookies:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 egg yolks
2 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat butter, sugar, molasses until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks. Sift dry ingredients directly into butter mixture and beat until well combined. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough and roll it out 1/4 inches thick. Cut out gingerbread people with cookie cutters. Bake until cookies turn golden brown on the edges, about 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool. Decorate the cooled cookies with white icing or royal icing.