Molasses Gingerbread Men

Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man.

Did you know that Nove. 21 is National Gingerbread Day? I read that on Susan Wittig Albert's enewsletter "All About Thyme." This is the ideal day to share my family gingerbread cookie recipe with you.

It is so much fun to set aside a morning or afternoon and have a family event making gingerbread men cookies, and then decorating them with frosting and sprinkles.
This is a recipe from my step mother, Barb, who got it from her mom.

Molasses Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup dark molasses
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 and 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sour cream
Cream butter, add sugar and mix well.
Add beaten eggs, molasses, flour mixed and sifted with soda and spices, alternately with sour cream and the cream of tartar.
Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Chill.
Knead on floured surface and roll out about 1/4 inch thick.
Cut with cookie cutters. Use all the designs you like, including gingerbread boy and girl, reindeer, Christmas tree, star, camel, Santa Claus, and more.
Bake on greased sheet in 350 degree oven 15 or 20 minutes.

For frosting stir powdered sugar and a little margarine and milk until blended.
Add food coloring to several different bowls of frosting, and put on the work table all of the sprinkles you can buy. Chocolate sprinkles are our favorite and the green and red sugar sprinkles.

In my family we spread on the frosting and then add artistic touches of the sprinkles, making realistic gingerbread people, Christmas trees, candy canes, etc.
They are almost too gorgeous to eat! Almost but not quite.
Half the fun is tasting as you add the frosting and sprinkles.