Gingerbread Friends

"Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!"

We read several renditions of Gingerbread Friends like The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock,

Gingerbread Baby 

Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett,

 and Gingerbread Mouse by Katie Bratun.

Most of these stories became favorites.

Our housekeeping area looked like a gingerbread house on the outside. Inside was filled with things so that we could practice making cookies. We had bowls, spoons, rolling pins, cookie cutters, cookie sheets and spatulas with pom poms of all colors to stir and measure. We played with beanbag cookies- circle shapes and gingerbread man shapes.

Gingerbread men shapes and buttons provided

a fun sorting and designing activity.

We learned a new chant which we practiced over and over and over again:

Five little cookies at the bakery shop
All decorated with sugar on top
Along comes ___________ with a penny to pay
And he (she) bought one cookie and he (she) walked away.
Four...Three...Two...One...

We did some more practicing with cinnamon-scented playdough. We squished it, rolled it, cut it and decorated it with buttons.

More practicing took place with paint and collage materials.

All the practice was put to the test when we set out to make real Gingerbread Friends. We worked together putting in the ingredients. We watched the mixer stir it up and then we each had a teeny tiny taste!

We put the dough in the refrigerator to chill. Awhile later, we took turns rolling out the dough and cutting out our Gingerbread Friends.

We added little candies and raisins to complete their  look.

We were fortunate in that our Gingerbread Friends didn’t run away!

Here’s our recipe so we can make some more at home:

8 tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Beat butter with sugar and molasses. Mix in egg. Sift dry ingredients and mix into wet mixture. Chill in freezer 1 hour. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out portion of dough 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured board. Chill remaining dough. Cut with cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheets and decorate. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool.