Perfect little Gingerbread Men

The holiday season is upon us, so I thought I'd kick it off with a few of my altime favorite "holiday" recipes. This first one is not a favorite, or even a like, of mine. Not because the recipe is bad, but just simply because I don't like gingerbread. My husband, on the other hand, loves them. So I whipped up a batch for the neighbors and him. I even made a vegan batch this year. Yay me! Not that it was hard since I only had to replace the egg. Sorry for fuzzy pics. My phone screen won't let me touch where the capture button is, and my regular camera has flash problems... Oh well, you get the idea

You will need:

• 1/2 cup creamed vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark molasses (I used blackstrap)
• 1 med egg (or 1Tbs ground flax mixed with 3Tbs boiling water, let set 10 min)
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 2/3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

What you'll do:

1. Mix together the shortening, sugar & molasses
2. Add egg and beat completely
3. Combine all dry ingredients and add to the creamed ingredients gradually until combined well
4. Refridgerate till cold (about 1hr)
5. Roll out 1/4" thick on lightly floured surface
6. Cut out shapes
7. Bake @ 350 for 10-12 min (10 worked well for me)

Optional: Decorate with a simple powdered sugar glaze. Mix 3 cups powdered sugar with 1/4 cup milk. Add the milk slowly and only until the frosting is thin enough to decorate with.