Gingerbread Men (and women and kids...)

It's the most wonderful time of the year for baking!!!  With so many options around it's hard to choose.  These little ones are always a favorite though!  :)

 I decided to go with the recipe straight out of the Joy of Cooking and was quite pleased with the results.   I especially like how she put the options of cutting out the little people yourself with a knife, or molding them by hand.  (Or of course using cutters.)  You can see the recipe from Rombauer's Joy of Cooking below, or on page 712 of yours at home! :)
If you can't read it from this photo just let me know and I will post it! :)

I made the cookies as directed and then rolled them out to about 1/4" thick.  I only had to bake them for about 6 minutes, and they are crispy.  So if you like softer ones, you should probably experiment with thicknesses and baking times. :)  

 After they were cooled I mixed about 1 c. of Powdered Sugar and a little bit of water to pipe on details.  I went the simple route because I know these are going to be eaten in just a couple of minutes.  And I realize they look a bit cheesy....but they are charming right?  ;)

Have you ever happened to see cookie cutters that look about like these?  Well, I have, and I just decided to try to do it at home and I think these are quite hilarious!  We'll see if they work on my hubs tonight!  ha!

Happy Baking!  And Happy Christmas-y Baking!! :)