Day 19: Gingerbread Man Garlands!

To go along with the string snowman decorations from yesterday, why not make some gingerbread garlands to brighten up the house? Gingerbread garlands are great to hang from doors and make wonderful gifts too!

Gingerbread Garlands

Here's what you'll need:

1 recipe Gingerbread (below)
Small gingerbread man cookie cutter
1 recipe icing and small candies for decoration
Pastry bag with decorator tips
Plastic wrap
1/4" ribbon
Large bow


Directions:

Prepare and roll out the gingerbread. Cut out gingerbread men with the cookie cutter and bake. When cool, decorate them with the icing and small candies.

Cut a length of plastic wrap the lenght you want the garland to be and lay it out on the table. Place the gingerbread men face down lenghtwise about 2" apart on the plastic.

Fold in the plastic wrap from both sides securely around the gingerbread men. Tie a bow with the ribbon between each gingerbread man. At the top of the garland secure the large bow and hang it from your front door, or other wall space.


Gingerbread Recipe

Here's what you'll need:

1-1/2 cups butter or margarine
2-1/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1-1/2 cups dark molasses
1/2 cup water
7 to 8 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
7 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoons ground allspice


Directions:

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add molasses and water. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, a cup at a time, and mix on low to avoid adding too much air to the mixture. If the dough is too stiff for your mixer, mix it by hand with a metal spoon or with clean hands. Wrap the mixture in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Baking: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Roll out the dough 1/8" thick and cut out cookies. Bake the cookies until they are lightly browned at the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.



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