Looking for the best gingerbread recipe

[melk]

As a kid we used to get the BEST gingerbread men from a nearby bakery, since closed. I have never been able to make or buy one like them since. The gingerbread men were thick, and not hard, they were nice and soft. The icing was not frosting, but a smooth, harder type of sugar icing (can't really know how else to explain it). Anyone have a recipe that might fit this one's description? Thanks!

 

[gina2000]

Soft Gingerbread Men

3/4 cup butter (can substitute shortening or margarine)
1 1/4 cups granulated or brown sugar (brown makes a softer cookie)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
3/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
3 1/2 - 4 cups flour

Cream sugar and butter. Blend in salt, baking soda and spices. Stir molasses in water. Alternate flour, 1 cup at a time and molasses into sugar and butter mixture. Divide dough into quarters. Wrap and chill. Bake on lightly oiled baking sheets for 10 -15 minutes. Let cool on sheet. Remove

To ice

Take confectioners sugar. Add a tiny bit of milk or water. Stir until it becomes a smooth paste. Fill pastry bag and pipe onto cool cookie. Let dry before stacking.


Hints:

Cookies can be rolled directly onto the BACK of a cookie sheet. Put a wet dishtowel under the top of the sheet so it doesn't slide. Roll and cut into shapes. Remove the excess dough using a sharp knife.

If you want to hang cookies on tree - make the hole in the cookies BEFORE you bake using a toothpick. Make it bigger than you think you need. The hole will shrink as the cookie puffs.

These cookies are soft. If it is humid, they will break and fall off the tree. So beware!

 

[Harley Chick]

I just tried a new gingerbread cookie recipe last night that I got from a website that someone here recommended.

http://cookie.allrecipes.com/AZ/GingerbreadBoysGirls.asp


I didn't do the egg yolk thing like the recipe called for, I used my own hard frosting and they came out excellent. They were soft and yummy. This is definitely the recipe I'm going to use from now on.

My frosting recipe is 1/2 cup cold water, 1/4 cup merangue powder and 4 cups confectioners sugar.