gingerbread witch hats

To be honest, I'm not a fan of Halloween . I draw the line at creepy masks and fake blood, recorded screams, and mischief in the night. When the kids were really little, nothing was more fun than to read Tasha Tudor's Pumpkin Moonshine , and celebrate with spicy gingerbread cookies and flickering candles. I was okay with the frozen koolaid hands sitting in the middle of the punchbowl at school, too . But beyond that, I'm a wimp about Halloween.

My gingerbread cookie recipe is a great, all-purpose cut out cookie, good for every holiday that comes up. Valentine's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas teas. I roll them out to a half an inch, so they stay study and unbroken when handing out to Trick or Treaters. And they don't deliver so much sugar your kids are bouncing halfway to the moon, either. I found the witch hat cookie cutter at my favorite store in Keene, NH, Your Kitchen Store.

The cookies are deliciously spicy and soft, but firm.

Recipe from Craig Claiborne, NYT Cookbook:

To make:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 t. ginger

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. cloves

1 large egg

3/4 cup molasses

3 cups King Arthur flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and spices.

Add the egg and mix, then add the molasses.

Sift together the flour, soda, and baking powder, then add to the molasses mixture and mix until blended in well.

Chill the dough in a plastic bag in the fridge for a half hour .

Preheat oven to 350F.

Fit two baking sheets with foil or parchment.

Roll out half the dough to a 1/2 inch thickness, cutting into shapes as you wish. Place the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets.

Bake one cookie sheet at a time in the upper third of the oven for 10 minutes, then remove to cool.

This makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies, depending on the size of the cookie cutter you use.

Enjoy!