Gingerbread men are tricky.

I like my gingerbread men to be spicy, but not too spicy, sweet, soft, and fluffy.
It is hard to find a good recipe.

I found this one today on allrecipes.com.
I love allrecipes.com.

Gingerbread Cookies
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, until they are completely absorbed. Divide dough into 3 pieces, pat down to 1 1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When the cookies are done, they will look dry, but still be soft to the touch. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks. When cool, the cookies can be frosted with the icing of your choice.

I halved the recipe because I didn't want to eat 2 dozen cookies. And if I made that many, believe me, I would eat them. A tip I learned from one of the 83 commenters on this recipe was to roll out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. This kept the cookies moist and was so easy! They were perfect. We slathered ours in the usual-- vanilla frosting, sprinkles, and chocolate chips. Even Stella liked them.