Food is Love: Naked Ginger Men

OK, we'll start with the obvious. If you have reached this post because you Googled "Naked Men" and this link came up, my sincere apologies. I know a recipe is very disappointing.

For the rest of you, it's your lucky day. Angela's recipe = my new favorite cookies. Seriously. I want a ginger man right now. And it won't surprise you to learn that I like them better naked. Thanks for the cookies and the guest post, Ang!

Faced with the dilemma of wanting to meet Jan for coffee and needing to make cookies for a family get-together, I knew something was going to have to give. Perfect cookies vs. much-needed time with a friend, how could I get both? The ginger men would just have to be naked.

Nobody really cares if the cookies have cute little frosting faces. In fact, I think naked ginger men are better. Not overly sweet and the spices really come through. Frost if you must but leave some bare so you save time to do something else – like catching up with a friend or enjoying a few minutes of holiday tranquility.

Gingerbread cookies, makes 3 dozen

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Cream butter with sugar and molasses. Add egg.
2. Whisk together flour, soda, salt and spices in a separate bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
3. Chill dough in refrigerator for a few hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dust your work surface lightly with flour and roll out dough to desired thickness.
5. Cut into shapes and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 mins.
6. While cookies are still warm, you can add raisins or other decorations. Or let cool and frost. They are really good with no decoration at all -- crisp and spicy like ginger snaps

Note from Jan: You'll find more about this recipe on Angela's new blog, Mom's recipes. The blog is a tribute honoring the memory of her amazing mom -- and it's a gift to us all. Talk about "Food is Love."