gingerbread fun.

This year the plan was to make an advent calender, like this , and put lots of goodies in it for Daniel, with an envelope of a Christmas date to get us more in the mood for Christmas! But it never happened 'cause I couldnt find any sacks, and Pasadena was too far to look in the craft stores.

It then changed to 12 days of Christmas gifts, which in the end didnt work out, 'cause I was stuck on day 2! Instead I kept the Christmas Dates and Changed them into:

The 12 Dates til Christmas 

Much simpler, and way fun! Especially with our crazy schedules of never having time together. So I wrote them on little cards and placed them on the tree. 

Day1: Enjoy a Peppermint Mocha while Christmas Shopping.

Day2: Bake and Decorate Gingerbread Cookies!

Ive never made gingerbread before, and every Christmas I want to make a gingerbread house but never do. I think this is the closest I'll get this Christmas.  Also I've never used molasses before. Man that stuff stinks! It was making me sick...bleh.  

They're super simple to bake, after getting past the refridgerate for 1 hour... Its like my curse. I always get this idea to make something I get up and start preparing everything, getting real hungry, then I read "refridgerate over night" "stir for 1 hour" "bake for 2 hours" ...really!? It never fails.

So I finished the cookies just as Daniel was walking in the door, and finished the bags of icing with enough time to let them cool. 

Here's our best: 

who knows what the 1st one is, then vomiting man, one had his period all of the place, summer gingerbread,  ... Then you have the classic trees and one dressed in lederhosen. I asked Daniel what the bottom left was "its modern art."

It was fun. 

Gingerbread Cookies

by Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp all spice

Icing:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 to 2 tbsp milk
• Food coloring

Directions

Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream the sugar and butter until thoroughly combined. Add the eggs and molasses and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and combine with a spoon or spatula.

Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap; place in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, until pliable. Take about 1/2 cup of dough at a time and roll onto a floured board until about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out with gingerbread boy and girl cookie cutters. You can re-roll the scraps. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies from the board to the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes, until just beginning to brown at the edges. 

To make the icing, combine the confectioners' sugar and milk. Divide the mixture into thirds; leave 1/3 white, and color 1/3 green and the final third red. Decorate.