Addictive Gingerbread Cookies

My one problem with these cookies is that is quite dangerous to keep them around the house (they will be eaten frequently)! Also, they're equally fun to decorate and they make your house smell like gingerbread, which is never a bad thing.

1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup best life margarine (dairy free)
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour + additional 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon preferably grated (but can use ground) nutmeg

Start by melting your 1/2 cup of margarine. Once it's melted, pour in the sugar and molasses and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer grainy. Then take it off the heat and let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients (except for the additional 1/4 cup of flour) and whisk. Then make a well in the middle and pour in the cooled molasses and butter mixture. Stir until incorporated and then add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour and stir until the batter is thick and completely mixed. Then knead the dough a few times to make it smooth and then wrap in plastic wrap and let chill, preferably for at least several hours to overnight.

When you're ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 and take out the dough and cut off 1/2 to roll out on a floured surface while keeping the rest of the dough covered and refrigerated. Make sure your rolling pin is floured and your surface is floured and then roll out the dough to about 1/4". Then cut out your shapes and place on a baking sheet (**NOTES - You really need to use a rimless baking sheet for these and I used a very large baking sheet so if you're using a smaller one, roll out the 1/3 of the dough instead of 1/2).

Bake for 8-10 minutes until just firm. Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes and then remove them to a cooling rack. Repeat these steps and continue making your cookies. This recipe should bake about 2 dozen 3" gingerbread men.

For the icing - you need:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons almond milk
a few drops of your desired flavor (vanilla, almond, or my favorite - PEAR)

Combine the above ingredients until smooth and glaze those cookies. For pear extract, I'm sure someone sells it but it's pretty easy to make for yourself. Just peel a few pears and chop them roughly. Heat them in a heavy bottom sauce pan until they are mushy and swimming in pear liquid. Then strain the pears and put the liquid back in the sauce pan. Bring the liquid to a boil and cook until it reduces to a thick syrup. Let it cool and put it in a bottle and you have a pear extract to put in this glaze.