Gingerbread Cookies

The history of gingerbread goes back to the Middle Ages, and every European country has a traditional form with many variations in the spices. This dough must be chilled before rolling, but it is easy to work with. It makes crisp cookies that you can cut and decorate as gingerbread people. You can also make gingerbread stars--just the thing for dipping, one point at a time, into a cup of tea.

INGREDIENTS

1⁄2 cup molasses

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1⁄2 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon ginger

1⁄4 teaspoon cloves

1⁄4 teaspoon white or black pepper

1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon

1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

Red and green frosting, raisins, silver dragees, sprinkles, crystallized cherries for decoration

Lightly grease a 1⁄2-cup measuring cup and pour in molasses. Cream butter and sugar until mixture is smooth and light. In another bowl, mix flour, spices, and baking soda. Mix about half into butter mixture. Pour in molasses; mix. Add remaining flour mixture. Shape dough into 2 disks or rectangles, wrap each in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil. Dust a work surface and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Working with one piece of dough at a time (and keeping the other one cool), roll it out until it is 1⁄4" thick. Cut out gingerbread people (or other shapes). You can use raisins or silver dragees for eyes and buttons, slices of crystallized cherry for mouths, or dust with ovenproof sprinkles. Bake 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

If you want to tie the cookies on the tree, make a hole by wiggling a toothpick in them as soon as they come out of the oven. To frost, wait until cookies have cooled completely, then outline their shapes and make faces and buttons with red and green frosting.

Makes 12-18 gingerbread people, depending on the size of your cutter. (The recipe can be doubled if you want more. In that case, shape it into 4 portions before rolling.) The dough is also good for gingerbread stars or other smaller cookies, in which case the yield will be about 2 dozen.