Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

3 cups flour  
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger  
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp ground cinnamon  
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda  
½ cup molasses (not blackstrap)
Grandma's Original brand
¼ tsp ground nutmeg          
1 egg

Icing and decorations

Directions

1. Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl.  
2. Beat butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  
3. Add molasses and egg; beat well.  
4. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.  Press dough into a thick flat disk.
   Wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. 
5. Preheat oven to 350F.  Roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness on lightly floured work surface.  Dough will be soft. Cut into gingerbread men shapes or you can use other shapes – hearts, Christmas, etc.  Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Do now crowd them.   Keep dough refrigerated for easy handling.  Take out 1/4 or 1/3 of the dough at a time, and leave the rest in the fridge till ready to roll it out.  Before baking, press the raisin or currents in for the eyes and add hard candy decorations like pearls or stars  for the buttons. 
6. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges of cookies are set and just begin to brown.  Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes.  Remove to wire racks; cool completely.  Decorate cooled cookies as desired.  You can use Betty Crocker decorator icing in the tube with the decorating tips. Icing will harden.  Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days separated with wax paper, or tinfoil after the icing has set.   Makes about 20 - 5" cookies.