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1
Ceam the butter and sugar together, then beat in the molasses and egg.
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2
In another bowl, add the flour, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice.
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3
Stir well with a fork so the dry ingredients are well mixed.
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4
Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until the dough is thoroughly mixed.
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5
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for about an hour, or until the dough is chilled.
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6
Preheat the oven to 350F, and grease some cookie sheets.
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7
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough about 1/4-inch thick.
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8
Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into Gingerbread persons - or any other shapes you wish.
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9
Transfer the cut pieces of dough to the prepared cookie sheets, placing them about 1-inch apart.
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Bake for about 7 minutes.
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11
Remove from the oven and transfer cookies to racks.
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12
Brush the cookies with Basic Clear Glaze when still warm or frost with Butter Frosting when cool,.
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13
Make faces and buttons with raisins, bits of citron or candied fruit, or little red cinnamon candies.
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14
If you wish, you may tint the icing in various colors and pipe it through a pastry bag fitted with a small rounded tip (the kind used for writing) to give the figures more details.
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15
BUTTER FROSTING: Combine the butter and sugar in a small bowl and beat until smooth.
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Add the milk and vanilla and continue beating until smooth and well blended.
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VARIATIONS:.
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CHOCOLATE FROSTING: Sift 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa over the butter and sugar and proceed as directed.
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LEMON FROSTING: Add 2 tablespoons grated lemon rind with the butter and sugar.
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ORANGE FROSTING: Add 2 teaspoons grated orange rind with the butter and sugar.
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RUM FROSTING: Decrease milk to 1 tablespoons and add 1 tablespoons rum.
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BASIC CLEAR GLAZE: Glaze is brushed on cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.
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A glaze is a clear shiny coating that can be colored.
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After you spread a glaze on cookies, you can spread colored sugar granules over the glaze before it dries, or put some tiny candies over the glaze.
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25
The glaze hardens as it dries.
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Mix the sugar and water together, mix well to dissolve any lumps and make a smooth runny glaze.
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Brush a spoonful on cookies while they are still warm (if the glaze is not runny enough, add a little more water).
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28
You can also make double the recipe if you are coating many cookies.
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OPTIONAL: Assorted food colors come in small boxes in the supermarkets, Adjust a drop or two to the glaze and stir - if its too pale add a little more until desired color is reached -.
