As soon as the first cool breeze blows in, it’s time for us to make these huge gingerbread people. Long ago we decided that these crisp spice cookies taste too good and are too much fun to make to wait for the holidays—plus, my husband, Jeff, is always in the mood for gingerbread cookies.
Rolling the scraps more than three times toughens the gingerbread, so position the cookie cutter carefully to make as many cookies as possible from each rolling. I use raisins for buttons and facial features and a simple powdered sugar glaze to make squiggles for hair, zigzags for trim, and dots for little details. It looks good no matter what you do.
makes 9 cookies • cookie making 30 minutes (including decorating) cookie baking 325 degrees, two baking sheets for about 12 minutes each
cookies
3¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
2 large eggs
Raisins for decorating
powdered sugar frosting
2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, plus up to 2 teaspoons
MAKE THE COOKIES. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into a large bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar, and molasses over low heat, stirring often, until the butter and sugar melt. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat, and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs to blend the yolks and whites. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the slightly cooled molasses mixture over the eggs. On low speed, with an electric mixer, pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture, mixing until it is incorporated and the dough holds together in large clumps and comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.
Divide the dough in half and form it into 2 rough rect-angles about 6 inches long. Wrap 1 piece of dough in plastic wrap and set aside. Lightly flour the rolling surface and rolling pin. Roll the remaining piece of dough into a rectangle about 12 by 8 inches and ¼ inch thick. Slide a thin metal spatula under the dough to loosen it from the rolling surface, then use an 8-inch-long gingerbread person cookie cutter to cut out 2 people. Carefully fold the arms over the chest of each and slide the cookies onto the baking sheet, placing them about 2 inches apart. Open out the arms. Press the scraps together, wrap them in plastic wrap, and set aside. Unwrap the second piece of dough and repeat the rolling and cutting process. Transfer the cookies to the baking sheet. Gather together all of the dough scraps, forming a smooth disk. Repeat the rolling and cutting process, but roll the scraps to an 18-by-8-inch rectangle and cut out 3 cookies. Repeat the rolling and cutting process, this time rolling to a 12-by-8 inch rectangle again to make 2 cookies, for a total of 9 cookies. Firmly press raisins into each cookie to form eyes, a nose, and a mouth and to make 3 or 4 buttons down the middle of the body.
Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies feel firm on top, about 12 minutes. The cookies will puff and thicken slightly during baking but not spread much. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, while the cookies are still warm, you can use a toothpick to poke a hole in the top of each one so that it can be hung as an ornament.
MAKE THE FROSTING. In a small bowl, stir the powdered sugar together with enough cream to form a thick, firm frosting. Spoon the frosting into a small pastry bag fitted with a small round writing tip or a plastic freezer bag with a tiny hole cut in one corner. Holding the pastry tip or plastic bag about 1 inch above the cookie and moving it slowly, pipe hair, a mouth, shoes, and whatever else you like for decoration on each cookie. Draw a frosting bow or bow tie at the neck, or outline a dress or jacket. Or create any whimsical design you choose. (Sometimes I look at pictures of decorated gingerbread cookies for ideas.) Let the cookies sit until the frosting is firm.
The cookies can be layered between sheets of wax paper in a tightly sealed container and stored at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. The flavor improves the day after baking.