Ingredients

  • 1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • ⅔ cup dark molasses
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3¼ cup all-purpose flour 
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Royal Icing, for decorating (optional)

Yield

Serves: 24

Preparation

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla, and mix until combined, being sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt and mix until the dough is evenly combined. 

Form the dough into a thin patty and wrap it in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Generously flour a work surface, then place the unwrapped chilled dough on top. Roll out dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Using a gingerbread man-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Place on a baking sheet and bake until the edges have browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely before decorating.

To decorate the cookies, transfer the royal icing to a pastry bag fitted with a tip or to a plastic bag with a corner snipped off. Pipe icing onto the cooled cookies as desired, then let stand until icing has set.