Lunchtime is usually hectic.  A time when people in cities everywhere rush around trying to run a few errands, as well as grab a bite to eat.  Sometimes however, taking a little extra unpaid time for a longer lunch can produce value that cannot be measured in dollars alone.

There I was typing away at my computer.  I was producing engaging emails and astounding documents that would make even the proudest bureaucrat jealous, but even the most efficient mornings can be invaded by pure human desires.  In my case, the basic human need to snack.  Specifically, I had a hankering for gingerbread men.  The kind of gingerbread man where you can unabashedly take out your frustrations by chomping off their delicious head, followed by each of their spice infused limbs.  Sharing my temptations with my office mates, I soon started to contemplate if I could bake some at lunch.  I could satisfy my desires, while also being an office hero.  I could do it all…  over lunchtime.

After a quick search, I found a yummy looking recipe and knew what I had to do.  Racing home, I prepared the dough.  Preheated the oven.  Chilled the dough for an absolute minimal amount of time, while I raced around grabbing cookie cutters, lining baking sheets with parchment paper, and licking my lips in anticipation of the delightful gingerbread men that would soon populate our kitchen.

Rolling, cutting, and baking with the efficiency of a man filled with divine cookie inspiration, I was soon holding a container filled with gingerbread man magic.  There would be no escape for these little cookie delights, they had only one destination.  One fate awaited them, the bellies of my co-workers.

Yes, over my extended lunch hour, I had accomplished kitchen glory.  The hand of creation and the joy of provision.  Yes, sometimes value cannot be measured in dollars alone, sometimes it can actually be measured in gingerbread men.

“In order to maximize your lunchtime, I would recommend preparing the gingerbread dough the night before.  Then you can truly produce a multitude of cookies, without running too much over a usual lunch hour.”

LUNCHTIME GINGERBREAD MEN

½ cup Butter

½ cup Sugar

½ cup Molasses

1 Egg Yolk

2 cups Flour

½ teaspoon Baking Powder

½ teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Cloves

1 teaspoon Ginger

½ teaspoon Nutmeg

½ teaspoon Salt

 

Cream the butter and sugar.

Mix in the molasses and egg yolk.  Set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

Gradually, mix the “flour mixture” into the “molasses mixture.”

Cover and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll dough out to a ¼ inch thickness.

Cut into gingerbread man shapes.

Place gingerbread men onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes or until firm.

Decorate gingerbread men.

 

Makes about 30 gingerbread men.

Revised Source:  “Eileen’s Spicy Gingerbread Men” on allrecipes.com