8Tbsps (1 stick) unsalted butter 9oz honey 1cup sugar 1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa (I use Hershey's Special Dark)

1/2 package of gingerbread spice mix* 4 cups flour 3/4 tsp baking powder 1 pinch salt 1 egg, lightly beaten * 1 1 1 1 1 1 Substitute the followingTbsp ground Ginger Tbsp ground Cinnamon Tbsp ground Nutmeg Tbsp ground Allspice tsp ground Cardamom tsp ground Clove

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add honey, sugar, cocoa, spices, and m ix with wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Then let stand, off the heat, for 1 hour to cool. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add the lightly beaten eg g to the honey mixture, mixing in well. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Transfer the do ugh to a lightly floured surface and knead until it is soft, pliable and shiny. This may take a few minutes. Yes, it will be sticky, you will need more flour. Form dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate AT LEAST 24 hours, LONGER IS BETTER. I do mine a minimum of 48 hrs, this year, it went 96+ hrs and came out beautifully. Take out 1 hour prior to rolling and cutting. Roll out to about 1/4" thickness f or cookies, 1/2" thickness for houses. Transfer shapes to lightly greased cookie sheets - I used a baking stone with excellent results, if you have a Silpat or parchment baking paper, that works well too- and bake in preheated oven at 400 d egrees F, for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely and decorate to your imagination's content.