Step 1

In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Step 2

In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, vanilla and molasses and continue mixing until well incorporated.

Step 3

Slowly add in the dry ingredients, mixing well between additions, until fully incorporated.

Step 4

Divide the dough into 2 large balls. Wrap each in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk and refrigerate for 2 hours. It’s very important to allow the dough to chill completely before rolling it out and baking your gingerbread men, or the dough will be sticky and difficult to work with.

Step 5

Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Step 6

On a heavily floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4” inch thick. Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out the dough. Re-roll the dough as needed and cut out as many gingerbread men as you can.

Step 7

Place cookies 1” apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers are puffy. It’s better to underbake a little than overbake these cookies, as they will become very dry and extra crisp.

Step 8

Then remove the cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Let cookies cool completely before frosting - if you frost your cookies while still warm, the icing will melt!

Step 9

To make frosting, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, until smooth. It should be thick, but still thin enough to easily dip the cookies into.

Step 10

Dip each cookie, face down, into the bowl of icing and let the excess drip off. Set cookies back down on baking sheet or cookie rack and quickly sprinkle tops with red and green sugar sprinkles. Allow the icing to set before enjoying.