These are the two recipes I use for gingerbread men.
Gingerbread Men
3/4 cup shortening 1 1/2 cups molasses 5 Tablespoons boiling water 4 cups cake flour 2 teaspoons soda 1/4 tsp salt 2 teaspoons ginger 1/2 teaspoon cinnamonCream the shortening, add molasses and water and mix well. Sift the dry ingredients together and add in. The resulting dough is pretty soft and you will need to chill it at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. Roll out to just over an eighth inch thick, cut as desired and bake on a well greased sheet at 375F for 10-12 minutes. If you use this for regular cookies, you get 140-150 2 inchers.
Honey Gingerbread Men
1 up shortening 2/3 cup sugar 2/3 cup honey 2/3 cup warm water 5 cups cake flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons ginger 1 teaspoon cloves 1 teaspoon cinnamonMix honey with water. Cream shortening with sugar. Combine honey and sugar. Sift dry ingredients together, then gradually add to wet ingredients. Chill Roll out 1/8 inch thick, cut out and bake at 350F, 15-20 minutes. Makes 150-160 2 inch cookies.
If you have all purpose flour but no cake flour, reduce flour by 1 tablespoon per cup, and replace it with 1 tablespoon of corn or potato starch. (four tablespoons equals one quarter cup)
NightMist