How to Make Gingerbread Men

Nothing speaks of the Chrismas holidays more than the idea of the kids baking hot, delicious gingerbread with Mum or Grandma.  And the nice part is these gingerbread men can make either a tasty biscuit to give as a gift or they can be used for decorating a tree. 

The first thing you need to do is figure out whether or not you're going to use the gingerbread men you are going to make simply for a cookie platter, or for decorations for your window or perhaps your tree.  (At the end of this article is a recipe for gingerbread that traditionally has been used in making gingerbread houses.  It is particularly good manufacture of gingerbread men ornaments.)  If you decide to make the gingerbread men you make with your kids into ornaments, it would be better for you to choose a recipe for something known as Royal icing (recipe follows at the end of this article).  Royal icing tend to dry glossy, and is a much better edible "glue" for holding decorative candies on the gingerbread men.  If you are going to use them more as a cookie, butter cream frosting is a much better choice.  It dries more with a satin texture, takes colour better, and can be piped on a cookie a little more easily without running than the Royal icing can.

Once you have the recipe for the gingerbread and icing in hand, choose an area where you and your kids can work together.  Assemble the ingredients and the tools you'll need (such as mixing bowls, biscuit sheets, a spatula, and a wire rack to cool biscuits on) to make and decorate your biscuits or "cookies" with.  Additional supplies you will need to include are various candies like coloured sprinkles or sugar, silvered balls, or peppermints to decorate them  with, "cookie cutters" in the shape of gingerbread men and women, a drinking straw to cut a hole in the top of the cookie to allow hanging with a ribbon, piping bags and fine tips to pipe the icing onto the biscucookie with (be sure to include at least one fine detail tip to allow the addition of finer details like mouth, hair, lapel edges, etc.).

Make up the recipe for the gingerbread men first.  There will be plenty of time to make up the recipes for the icing while the cookies are baking or are waiting to cool.  Follow the directions for the preparation of the dough, remembering to roll them out to about 1/4 inch thickness.  After the cookies are rolled, flour the "cookie cutters" with 10x confectioners' sugar so they will release from the dough more easily.  At the top of the cookie cut a hole with a drinking straw.  This will allow you to turn a ribbon through it so that it can be hung after it is baked and decorated.  For those not used to baking, try using confectioners' sugar instead of flour when dusting the rolling surface.  This will not add any additional gluten to the dough, which can make the dough tougher as you roll it out additional times to better use the scraps.

Once the cookies are cool to the touch, you and your kids can safely decorate them.  This is a chance where you can let your imagination run wild.  If using the butter cream frosting, tint it in small batches, and use it to pipe or frost on different bits of clothing, hair, etc.  You can also sprinkle on colored sugar crystals in complementing or contrasting colours to add a little bit of sparkle to your cookie.  If using the Royal icing, you can glue down such things as red hots, pieces of licorice, M&Ms or Lifesavers as decoration.  Once decorated, set these aside and allow them to dry thoroughly before either stringing ribbon through them for hanging, or packing them into gift boxes.

As in all endeavors that include kids, special care needs to be taken when making the gingerbread men to protect the children from being burned or hurt when using the oven or electric appliances.  In general, kids under the age of 12 should only use hands to mix ingredients, and only the adults should be handling the hot cookies when they come out of the oven.

Gingerbread Recipe

Ingredients:
6 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cups shortening
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 eight-ounce container sour cream
2 eggs
 
Directions:
To prepare dough: Into large bowl, measure 3 1/2 cups flour, and remaining ingredients. With mixer at low speed, beat until well mixed, constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula. With hand, knead in remaining 2 1/2 cups flour to make a soft dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or until dough is not sticky and is of easy kneading consistency.

To roll dough: Keep refrigerated until ready to use. Working with half of a batch at a time on a lightly floured work surface with lightly floured hands, knead dough until smooth.  Grease and flour a 17" x 14" cookie sheet, then with a lightly floured rolling pin roll dough to 3/16" or 1/8" thickness. Remove scraps and reserve for re-rolling. Preheat oven to 350°F. (Place your cookie sheet in the refrigerator if there is room during the time the oven preheats.) Bake until golden brown and very firm when lightly touched with your finger.  Note: if you like soft cookies bake them for less time than you would if using them for the more durable ornaments.  Begin checking for doneness at around 10 to 12 minute mark.
 
Remove cookie sheet from oven and cool on wire rack 5 minutes. Carefully remove the baked pieces from cookie sheet and place on wire rack to cool completely.

Royal icing

Ingredients:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons meringue powder
4 tablespoons water
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, meringue powder and water.  The icing will have almost the same consistency as white Elmer’s glue. 

Using the icing as "glue," dip the candies you use into the icing and place on the cookie.  Allow to dry thoroughly.

Classic Butter cream Icing

Ingredients:
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
(Medium Consistency)
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer or by hand with a fork. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For thin consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water, or milk.

For stiff consistency, omit the butter and substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Colour Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

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