The Gingerbread Man~

Loved that story when I was small..
Thus my lingering love affair with gingerbread men~

And reindeers and stars~

So each of the Alphabet boys will have one..

I saved some stars for ornaments..

Just because I love homemade on a tree~From Alicias' skates..To Mod Podged Holly Hobby ornaments~(1970's)~
The recipe I used was Pinned..CHEWY..Gingerbread..not so much..some were still hard~

But some..go figure..were softer..I am keeping the recipe and will add a bit more molasses next time..

La Recette~

From Stick a Fork In It~Thank you:)

3 cups flour
 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
 1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
12 tbsps butter softened slightly ..cut into 12 pieces
3/4 cup molasses
2 tbsps milk
In the bowl of a stand mixer blend together the flour, brown ,sugar, ginger ,cinnamon, cloves, salt ,and baking powder..until well combined..add the cut up pieces of butter..mix until it resembles a very  fine meal..add molasses and milk  mix  until well combined and moistened into a nice dough.
Divide dough in half..   place in between 2 pieces of parchment.. roll out to ap 1/4 inch thick ..Refrigerate at least 20 mins..

Preheat oven to 350F..take dough out and cut into desired shapes..place on parchment lined sheets and bake ap 9-12 mins..cool and decorate..
I didn't decorate mine this year..I just used cookie cutters and my favorite Williams Sonoma   cutters:)

You can also go see here to learn more about them..so glad I bought them!

I am seeing dear friends Saturday.  I have not seen them in years...while in Florida..I bought a BIG snowflake  ornament at HomeGoods..and made 2 for them..

They had Santas.. Trees..but the snowflake caught my eye~They are the only two I dabbed with Royal Icing~
I don't know how they do it? Home Goods..and find such charming things at such affordable prices..$6.99..

Online catalogs..their prices are astronomical for large..unique designs~

So Thank you..Home Goods~

Not taking a lot of time to get the right light..exposure..staging etc..  just too much to share before Christmas..I don't want to tell you about these things after Christmas:)

By the way..my favorite Christmas episode of my favorite all time show on TV aired last night and will air tonight again..
For those of you who follow..PARENTHOOD..
Tonight is a 4 hankie episode..
It's the only show I am faithful to..on real TV:)I am such a huge fan..:)
I love all the cast..their characters..the storylines.~
J'AIME~