Castles, knights in shining armor, a great smell, and tons of fun? What better way to spend the holidays than to make some homemade gingerbread? Below is a recipe for a basic gingerbread dough, followed by ways the dough can be used.

To make the dough:

Dry Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 ½ cups butter, unsalted, softened at room temperature
1 egg
¼ cup molasses

Instructions:
1. In a medium-sized bowl, briefly mix all of the dry ingredients together until well-incorporated and then set aside.

2. Either in a standing mixer, a handheld mixer, or by hand with a rubber spatula, cream together the brown sugar and the butter for about a minute, until smooth. Tip: Make sure the butter is at room temperature and is very soft. Otherwise, it will not cream properly and the dough will be full of butter lumps.

3. Add in the egg and molasses and mix until well-incorporated. Tip: Spray or grease your molasses measuring cup with non-stick spray, shortening, or a little vegetable oil to allow the molasses to pour out easily.

4. Add all the dry ingredients and mix until an even dough starts to form. Do not worry if the dough is sticky–it will come together with a little kneading.

5. Pour onto a well-floured board and knead a couple times until the dough forms a ball.

6. Cut the dough into four pieces, form each into balls, and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap.

7. Place the dough in fridge to set for at least an hour before baking.

Storage:
Because of the raw egg, the dough can only last up to one week, refrigerated.

To bake the gingerbread:

1. Roll out in between sheets of wax paper until about ⅛ inch thick. Before cutting into desired shape, make sure the dough is still cold. Refrigerate more if needed.

2. Cut into desired shape.

For gingerbread men: Preheat oven to 350. Use a cookie cutter and cut out the men. Tip: First dipping the cookie cutter into flour will prevent it from sticking to the dough. Brush off any excess flour with a pastry brush and transfer your cut-outs to a well greased baking tray. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, depending on size. Make sure to keep an eye on it. When the cookies are done, transfer onto a wire rack to cool. Decorate with royal icing as desired.

For a gingerbread house: Preheat oven to 350. Trace over a gingerbread house print with wax paper. Place your tracing over the rolled out dough and cut out with a sharp paring knife. Transfer cut-outs to a well-greased baking tray and bake until ready. Glue together with royal icing and decorate as desired.