Chocolate Gingerbread Men

Inside Joke Alert: These cookies were inspired by a stag party in which we took the groom out for a round of paintball... the yellow & orange cookies represents the groom having fun, the blue & purple cookies represent the aftermath of bruises. The bride wasn't too pleased with us... so these cookies commemorate the day we took our friend out in the woods and shot him. Repeatedly. That's how he knows we all care :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 pound butter
1 tbsp grated ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp boiling water
7 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup sugar

In a bowl mix together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. In a mixer blend butter, grated ginger, brown sugar, almond extract, and molasses. Dissolve in boiling water the baking soda, then add to the butter mixture. Combine the flour and butter mixtures slowly (half at a time). What makes this recipe a little different here is that instead of chopping the semi-sweet chocolate into the batter, I melt it then mix it in. This produces a more consistent chocolate flavor. Once combined chill dough in a fridge for several hours or over night.

Once the dough has set, roll it into balls, and flatten with a roller pin. Use a cutter to produce the Gingerbread Men.

Preheat the oven to 325F, and bake for 10 minutes. Decorate the Gingerbread Men with melted chocolate.

I hope you all enjoyed this recipe as much as we enjoyed paintball :)