Spicy Gingerbread People

During this time of year many people are busy making gingerbread people, houses, cookies...the list keeps going. I'm a huge fan of ginger, so I almost always love any gingerbread that I come across. This recipe is particularly good, however! I'm going to be making a gingerbread house in the next few weeks & plan to use this recipe for some of the decorations.

Spicy Gingerbread People Recipe
Makes 2 dozen 3-inch cookies
Total Time: 50 minutes + chilling

2 cups all-purpose Flour
2 TBSP ground Cinnamon
1 TBSP ground Ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground Cloves
1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground White Pepper
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 stick unsalted Butter, softened
1/3 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Molasses
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Stir flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, baking soda, and salt together; set aside.

Cream butter and both sugars in a bowl with a mixer, blending until smooth.

Blend molasses into butter mixture, then beat in egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.

Add half the dry ingredients and mix until nearly incorporated, then mix in remaining dry ingredients. Shape dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and chill it at least 2 hours before rolling out.

Preheat oven to 350F; line baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut chilled dough in half. On a well-floured work surface roll one portion to about 1/8-inch thick. Flip and turn dough often during rolling to prevent it from sticking.

Cut out dough with 3-inch cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Punch holes in cookies if desired (for ornaments). Chill and re-roll dough for additional cookies.

Bake 10-12 minutes, or until set; do not over bake. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Decorate as desired; store in airtight containers for up to 1 week.