Before I made this recipe, I read all the comments and reviews and I was surprised because mine turned out great. I don't know if my oven is just really hot or if it's because it's small and narrow but whatever you do 350 F IS WAY TO HOT. I put mine on 150 C / 305 F for 12 MINS MAX. If you use 350 F for 20 mins you'll end up with rock hard hockey pucks. I also made 2 batches: one with the black pepper and one without. The black pepper really helps give the other spices a kick and brings out the flavors. I wouldn't eat too many in one sitting though! With the other batch I substituted nutmeg for black pepper. They were also great but with less of a spicy kick to them. I also used table salt and 1/2 of what the recipe recommended. Make sure the dough is not sticky before you put it in the fridge. You might need to kneed the last bit of flour in with your hands. Overall, VERY GOOD cookies and royal icing also helps the flavor. These are not sweet, sugary cookies. They are spicy and tangy.

This recipe is perfect as is, have been making it for years! Mine bake for 15-20 minutes as the cutters I use are quite large and oven temps vary. Don't want them to burn? Watch them!

The recipe doesn't say how long to bake these. I found 8 minutes to be good, but depending on your oven, I'd suggest checking them at 7. I felt like I could definitely taste the pepper and might use half the amount next time. I'm not really a gingerbread fan, but these taste good and the Royal Icing tones down the spicy taste a little.

It does not say how long to bake the cookies. I didn't discover this until I had already made the dough and put it on cookie sheets, so had to guess at the time. I remember last year the time was included, but it appears something is wrong with the page now.

Love this recipe. Easy to follow and my friends and family love them. Thank you, Martha.

Wonderfully excellent cookies from start to finish. Thank you for a receipe that actually tastes like it looks!

PLEASE tell us how to find the templates for these adorable cookies! I love the girl's dress with pockets! Pam

Yeah the link that the one person put up was of no use. I am also looking for the link to the templates, please put back

I found the template link, I can't wait to try these. http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/pdf2/gingerbreadpeople.pdf

This recipe has a great taste. Mine were cute and a HUGE HIT. To those whose cookies burned and thought it was the fault of the recipe: 1. Place cookies in preheated oven; 2. Set timer for 5 minutes less than suggested; 3. When timer goes off, check cookies; 4. If they need more time, leave in oven and check again in another few minutes until done. And, if your taste buds are sensitive to salt, add less (you can always add more). And congrats on your first attempt at baking cookies! Keep trying!