Gingerbread People

photo by:kraft

Butterscotch pudding is the secret to our super-moist take on these beloved holiday cookies. Our only advice: Don’t tell Grandma you've found a better recipe.

time

prep:

20 min

total:

1 hr 32 min

servings

total:

20 servings

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What You Need

3/4

cup butter, softened

3/4

cup packed brown sugar

pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Butterscotch Instant Pudding

egg

cups flour

tsp. baking soda

Tbsp. ground ginger

1-1/2

tsp. ground cinnamon

Make It

BEAT butter, sugar, dry pudding mix and egg in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Mix remaining ingredients. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

HEAT oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness; cut into gingerbread shapes with 4-inch cookie cutter, rerolling trimmings. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray. Use straw to make hole near top of each cutout.

BAKE 10 to 12 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 3 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate as desired. Insert ribbon through holes to hang cookies on tree.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size-Wise

Sweets can be part of a balanced diet but remember to keep tabs on portions.

How to Decorate Cookies

To easily decorate cooled cookies, fill resealable plastic bag with prepared frosting. Seal bag and cut small corner off one of the bottom corners of bag. Roll down top of bag to squeeze frosting over cookies to decorate as desired.

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Kbrien

posted:12/27/2005

I didn't take a chance and like a previous review I added a bit less than a Tablespoon of milk to the mix before refrigerating----The dough was VERY easy to make and work with. The flavor was not spicey at all. My children, 8 yr old and 3 1/2 yr old helped and it was kid friendly--definitely!

pinky1113

posted:12/27/2005

I loved them!! The recipe was easy to follow-didn't have to modify anything. I will definitely make this again.

jennifer04

posted:12/27/2005

I made these with my three year old brother for christmas. The dough was very easy to work with for little hands and the whole family loved them. Also I used fat free sugar free pudding because the store was out of regular. Turned out great! I will definately make these again

Brandyleigh35

posted:12/26/2005

These were ok, they didn't rock my world by my husband and kids really liked them. I added a couple teaspoons of allspice to this recipe. They were very easy, and made awesome gingerbread men. I personally prefer real gingerbread but these were not bad.

TexyGeek

posted:12/24/2005

I made these yesterday, and they were delicious AND easy... my boys are already asking me to make more! My dough, too, was crumbly, but I divided it into quarters and did some major kneading, and with each subsequent rolling, the dough became softer and easier to use! I will definitely make these again (and again and again)!

djmt89

posted:12/22/2005

A really fun recipe to make. They are really good and its fun to decorate them. I used vanilla pudding mix and it gave the cookies a nice flavor. I will definitely make these every christmas.

eclipse327

posted:12/21/2005

Having read several comments after making my gingerbread people, I'm glad I wasn't the only one with dough difficulty. My dough was very crumbly, (I actually re-read the recipe several times, thinking I left out) a "wet" ingredient. I added about a Tbsp of milk just to see if that would work, it seemed to keep the dough together. The cookies were terrific and came out great. I am going to make these again tomorrow and "knead the dough", perhaps that was the secret ingredient!!

jenna520

posted:12/21/2005

The cookies turned out great! I used cook and serve pudding instead of instant but they still turned out well. They were very chewy and not to spicy so kids will enjoy them!

valmarie1

posted:12/18/2005

I read all the other comments and noticed how many said the dough was too dry....it was perfect and very easy to work with for me. After refrigeration it "looked" like it would be dry but after kneading and rolling it was just fine. I might try adding some allspice next time to give it a little more flavor. Also, using powdered sugar mixed with a little water and food coloring works fine for decorating. I used a cut q-tip to apply the eyes, mouth and buttons and it dries fast and hard. They are super cute and so far a big hit in my home!

kaztjs

posted:12/14/2005

Great cookie that keeps its shape wonderfully!