Soft Gingerbread (Improved)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 box butterscotch instant pudding mix (3.5 oz)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and egg. Add the pudding mix. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon. Combine the flour mixture into the egg and sugar mixture, adding a little at a time. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough to about 1/8 inch thickness and cut into shapes. Place cookies on greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 8-9 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Tips
When you are mixing the dough, it might seem really dry. Just keep mixing it until it is not dry. It will probably be easier to do this if you use a mixer instead of stirring by hand.
Chilling the dough is not required but it makes the dough a lot easier to work with.

Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods

Ingredients
2 Giant size Hershey's milk chocolate bars (7 oz each), chopped
1 bag (10 oz) pretzel rods
sprinkles or other topping

Directions
Line two cookie sheets with wax paper. Melt the chopped chocolate bars in a double boiler. (See below if you do not have a double boiler.) Stir frequently so it doesn't burn. When the chocolate is melted, remove from heat. Dip the pretzel rods in the chocolate. You can put sprinkles or mini M&Ms or other topping on the pretzels. Place the pretzels on the wax paper. Freeze or refrigerate until the chocolate hardens, about an hour or two.

If you have leftover chocolate, just start dipping random things- bananas, apples, or whatever else you have in your kitchen!

If you want to dip strawberries, just wash them and dry them first.

Double Boiler
If you don't have a double boiler, put an empty stainless steel bowl on top of a pot of boiling water. Add the chocolate to the dry bowl.