Gingerbread Witches Hat cookies for Halloween

Right off the bat, I'll tell you I'm not overly fond of the scarier aspects of Halloween - the horror movies, the battery-driven bloody masks that little boys adore, the toilet paper on my car and in the trees, and the one memorable Halloween when some friends of my then-young daughter dug up some bones in the graveyard.  Ewwww.

But I do love the happy excitement with the littler folk becoming mermaids and princesses, pirates and cowboys, witches and warlocks.  That's pretty magical.

The other day, I found a wonderful cookie cutter at a local kitchen store and had to try it out today, mixing together my favorite-EVER cookie:  a spicy, soft gingerbread cookie that I make every Halloween ( and Christmas, and Easter, and Turkey Day, too, using different cut-outs).  Kids love this cookie, and it isn't so sweet it overloads them with yet more sugar. 

I didn't decorate them, simply because I didn't have a small enough icing tip for my pastry bag, but I'll try to find one before the big day.  In the meantime, these are just fine plain.

To make:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

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 ( all-purpose)

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

Fit two baking sheets with foil or parchment paper. Set aside.

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, and add to the molasses mixture.

Mix until blended well.

Chill the dough in a plastic bag in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Roll out half the dough on a lightly floured counter and cut out shapes.  Flour the cookie cutter as needed to prevent sticking. Roll dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness.

Place the cookies on one of the sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove to cool, and slip the other cookie sheet in the oven.  These cookies cool quickly, and are very sturdy.

Continue to roll out , cut out, and bake cookies until dough is gone.  Before rerolling the scraps, knead dough well, so that the flour from the counter is absorbed.

Decorate as you wish - and enjoy!