Gingerbread People

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 3 1/1 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. grated orange or lemon zest

Icing:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tbsp. hot water
• 1/8 tsp. vanilla, orange, or lemon extract
• 1-2 drops food coloring (optional)

Makes 48 Servings (1 cookie per serving)

1. To prepare the cookies, in a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the brown sugar, oil and butter until fluffy, 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, egg, and zest. Gradually add in the flour mixture until combined.
3. Divide the dough into 3 sections; flatten each into a disc. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill thoroughly, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray.
5. Working one disk at a time and keeping the remaining dough in the refrigerator, roll the disk on a lightly floured counter t o1/4-inch thickness. Cut the dough with a 3-inch gingerbread man cutter into 16-inch cookies. Place on prepared baking sheet, 1 inch apart, and back until just barely dark, about 8 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 2 disks of dough. Cool on a rack.
6. To prepare the icing, in a medium bowl, stir together the confectioners' sugar, hot water, and flavored extract until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add, a few more drops of water. Tint with the food coloring, if desired. Decorate the thoroughly cooled gingerbread people with the icing.

WW POINTS VALUE: 2 pts.

Note: This recipe appears in the WW New Complete Cookbook. The holidays are here and you can have your gingerbread cookie and eat them too. Don't be intimidated by all the ingredients. When you follow the directions, the cookies turn out delicious. The longer you refrigerate or freeze the dough, the more flavorful the cookies will taste. The cookies will taste just as delicious without the icing. You can make this cookie any time of the year but use a different cookie cutter and they'll taste just as delicious. You can leave these cookies in a storage container in the refrigerator for up to a week and freeze them up to a month.