Gingerbread Kits

Share the joy of the holiday season with this great homemade gift from your kitchen. I'm Lee Woodruff in the kitchen with Family Fun. Crank up the holiday music and invite the kids to come make some ginger bread family kits. To bake the gingerbread men, you'll need four cups of all purpose flour, one tablespoon of cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking soda, 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar, 2 eggs, and 1 cup of molasses. For the kids supplies, you'll need white decorators icing, M&M Minis, cinnamon red hots, tissue paper, plastic containers, and shoe string licorice. To make the cookies, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, and baking soda. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs, then beat in the molasses. Slowly add the dry ingredients, beating after each addition. The dough will become quite stiff. Divide the dough in half. Shape into discs and wrap it in plastic. Chill for one to two hours, or until the dough is firm enough to roll. To save time, prepare the dough the night before. Now, heat the oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out one piece of dough to 1/8" to 1/4" thickness. Be sure to also flour the rolling pin. Use the 5" gingerbread person cookie cutter to cut the dough and use a spatula to transfer the gingerbread people to an ungreased cookie sheet. Here's a tip, place the cookie cutter in the freezer for 10 minutes before you use it to make it easier to make it work with the sticky dough. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Cool them thoroughly and repeat the process with the remaining dough. To assemble a kit, line a 9" square plastic container with tissue paper. Add about 4 undecorated cookies, candies for decorating the cookies, and a tube of icing. Design a label to affix to the lid. This recipe makes 4 - 5 kits. This gingerbread kit gives your family's friends the pleasure of cookie decorating without the mess of baking.