If you want to decorate gingerbread men, you need a good gingerbread cookie dough. This gingerbread cookie dough is great for decorating (and eating) because the cut cookies don't puff or distort in the oven. And they taste great too!
Sift together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle, cream together the butter and the brown sugar, then add the molasses, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the egg, and beat it in. Add the flour mixture a third at a time. You might have to work the last bit in by hand.
Divide the dough in two, flatten into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for a couple of hours or until cold and firm.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line sheet pans with parchment paper.
Roll out the dough, working with 1 disk at a time, to ¼ inch on a floured surface. Cut out desired shapes and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes.
Let cool completely before decorating with royal icing and store in an airtight container.