Lara Parker's Gingerbread Men

from the Dark Shadows Celebrity Cookbook

Because I am fond of ginger and gingerbread and also love cookies, I couldn't wait until Christmas to try Lara Parker's Gingerbread Men (and Women) from the Dark Shadows Celebrity Cookbook.  It's a nice and traditional recipe with early American and European origins using a butter and sugar base combined with just the right blend of molasses, cinnamon, and ginger.  The caramel brown and fragrant dough is molded and chilled overnight and the cookies cut out the next day.  The recipe is easy to follow but requires a little time and patience and perhaps some experience in baking.  Getting the dough to the right consistency and rolling it to the right thickness, as well as cutting the cookies properly can be tricky, but it's fun to do with someone to keep you company or with children who like to help in the kitchen.  Surprisingly they bake to perfection in 5 minutes.  Icing the cookies is also tricky so I had to use several incantations to be sure they would come out right and I think my spell for the dough worked perhaps better than the one I used for my icing technique.  However, it was a hot summer night and the end result was a nice batch of really magical tasting cookies.  They are lightly crisp and tender to bite into and are delicious with milk, coffee, or tea, not to mention that they are very easy to stick pins into.  Angelique has again created an irresistible temptation, but would you expect anything less?  You will be delighted to make these cookies and they'll give you a chance to use some of your own creativity and imagination also.  As always, keep your pentagram handy.