Imperfect gingerbread men

I baked gingerbread men for the first time. I made them for the Christmas fair at the school - they were asking for donations of baked goods.

I didn't have ground cloves so I left that out. The recipe I was using called for a little orange zest, which I didn't have. I was just going to leave that out too, but when I didn't have the cloves I decided to put in a little orange essence.

Then I had a little trouble rolling them out and cutting them and transferring them to the cookie sheet. But I got there in the end. Then they spread quite a lot when I baked them, losing their defined edges and becoming more like gingerbread blobs.

At first I was sad that they weren't perfect. But then I got over myself. How many other people bothered to stand and bake and decorate gingerbread blobs men anyway? The school would be grateful and I should stop trying to get everything perfect. Besides, a little icing added some definition to their blob shapes and the addition of silver balls (ooh, shiny!) distracts the eye from the imperfections. Right? Right??









Of course, I am still determined to try again and get them right. I am still me, after all.