Treats, treats, treats

This past week I made some treats for the volunteers at my church who so graciously devote their Sundays at church.  I didn't anticipate how much time it would actually take me to do all of it and after it was all said and done it was well worth it!

Gingerbread Men - From the Food Network, but I doubled the spices :)

1 1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown packed brown sugar
2/3 cup molasses
1 egg
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 cups flour
Cookie Cutters

Directions:
Beat butter and brown sugar together.  Add in molases and egg until well blended.  Add pepper, salt, baking soda, cloves, allspice, ginger, cinnamon and four, and beat until mixed.  The dough will be thick!

Divide the dough into 2 sections, flatten into a disk on plastic wrap, and wrap and refidgerate 2-3 hours (but no more than 3!)

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Remove dough from fridge and let stand for about 20 minutes.
Roll out a section of the dough onto a floured work surface (I used wax paper) until the desired thickness is reached (I did mine to about 1/4 inch).  Dip your cookie cutter into flour and go for it! Bake for 5 minutes, then turn 180 degrees, and bake for another 3-5 minutes depending on how thick you made them.  Let them cool for a minute then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!