Step 1

In a stand mixer, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, add softened butter and brown sugar. Cream together until light and fluffy.

Step 2

Add molasses, egg, and vanilla. Mix until well incorporated.

Step 3

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.

Step 4

Slowly add the flour mixture to your stand mixer, allowing each addition to get mostly incorporated before adding more.

Step 5

Once the dough is mixed, generously flour your work surface, either a clean counter or a large piece of parchment paper, and dump your dough onto the floured surface.

Step 6

Flour your hands, or use a piece of parchment paper to fold the dough together enough to wrap it in parchment and place in a gallon ziploc bag.

Step 7

Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hour, or for best results, overnight.

Step 8

After the dough has chilled, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.

Step 9

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Step 10

Generously flour your work space again, plus your hands and rolling pin.

Step 11

Roll out your gingerbread dough, until ¼ inch thick. The edges don’t need to be perfect, they may crack but that’s okay.

Step 12

Use your gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out ¼ inch thick ginger men in all of the places you can where the dough is solid, avoiding any thinner or cracked edges. We are going to re-roll the excess dough.

Step 13

Place your cut out ginger men on the prepared baking sheet. Gather up your leftover dough, and re-roll to repeat this process and make more ginger men, until all the dough is used up. For best results, and because this may take a while, chill your cut out gingerbread men in the refrigerator again for about 45 minutes.

Step 14

Move the cookies to your preheated oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just crisping. Be careful not to overbake.

Step 15

Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack.

Step 16

Once cookies have cooled, turn the gingerbread men upside down and use the melted chocolate to attach your candy eyes & M&M noses, and then draw on your reindeer antlers.