Easy Homemade Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

Start off by preheating the oven to 350°F (175°C). This preheating step is vital as it ensures an even baking environment, and it's something I've learned from years of baking.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. It's important to make sure the ingredients combine well to create a smooth base for your dough.

Beat in the egg into the creamed mixture. Following this, stir in the molasses and ensure a smooth blend.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and the spices. I find that sifting makes a difference in the texture and is an extra step that's worth the time.

Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet mixture, form into a smooth dough. If it gets a bit too tough to stir, feel free to use your hands as this'll give you better control.

Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch on a floured surface. My top tip here is to not roll the dough too thin as you want your gingerbread men to be perfectly firm and not too hard.

After rolling, use gingerbread or any festive shaped cutters to create your cookies, then arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake them about 10 to 12 minutes, until they start to firm up. Be careful not to over-bake as they will harden more when cooling.

Allow the gingerbread men to cool on the tray for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Decorate with icing as desired. This is the fun part you can do with your family.