Preheat oven to 180°C (160° fan forced, 375°F)
Put all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined
In the bowl of your mixer, add softened butter and brown sugar and mix until well combined but not light and fluffy
Add molasses and mix well
Add egg and mix well
Add flour mixture 1 cup at a time until all combined, mixing slowly so flour doesn't fly all over the kitchen. If mixture is too dry, add a bit of water, 1 tbsp at a time. if mixture is too moist, add 1 tbsp flour until mixture comes together in a soft ball
Working with just ½ the dough at a time (wrap the rest in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready to use), roll out between 2 sheets of baking paper to about 3-4mm thick
Using a cookie cutter, cut out the shapes. remove the unwanted dough from around the cookies, leaving the Gingerbread Men on the baking paper. Transfer the baking paper with the Gingerbread men on to a baking tray
If you need to add additional Gingerbread Men to your baking tray to fill the tray, simply cut around the gingerbread man and transfer the baking paper with the Gingerbread man on it to the baking tray
Bake for 8 minutes for a soft consistency, 8½ minutes for a more chewy consistency
Form left over dough back into a ball and again roll out and continue making more Gingerbread Men until all the dough is used up