Well, I am trying to not inundate this blog with tons of kid pictures but it is the holidays and it can’t be helped. We made some really delicious gingerbread cookies the other day and I let the kids decorate them. I have never made them before so I didn’t have a good recipe, but my friend Alex Nguyen(who is an awesome photographer) sent me a recipe that she had tried and tested over the years:

Gingerbread Cookies
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg yolk
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions
1 In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar
until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk. Combine the
flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves,
ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until
smooth. Cover, and chill for at least one hour.
2 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a
lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch
thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place
cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3 Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until
firm. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost
or decorate when cool.