Gingerbread Cookies

It was always a tradition when I was growing up to make holiday cookies come this time of year. I used to love rolling out the sugar cookie and gingerbread dough with my mother, cutting the cookies into fun shapes and then decorating them. I wanted to continue that tradition with Kenya, but the thought of making cookies with tons of sugar didn't seem like such a good idea (Kenya jumping off the walls at bed time never appeals to me), so we stuck with gingerbread. This recipe does have some sugar, but not a lot. It also contains molasses, which is full or iron, a bonus for kids. Kenya and I didn't use any icing on these because, in my opinion, they don't need it, but if you want to put a little piping on them, I included a simple icing recipe. This recipe makes dozens of cookies (more or less, depending on the size of the cookie cutters you use), so you'll have plenty for friends and your family during the holidays.

Icing

2 Cups Confectioners Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
2-3 Tbsp Milk

1. Place ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Place in a ziplock bag and cut a tiny whole at one end to squeeze and draw with the icing.

We used these to make this recipe:

Silpat 11-5/8-by-16-1/2-Inch Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat