Instructions: Cream shortening and sugar. Add molasses and egg; beat thoroughly. Sift together remaining ingredients and add to liquid mixture. Mix well. If dough does not come together, add water as necessary. (Dough tends to be stiff.) Roll to 1/2" thick and cut pattern for desired structure. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. Be very careful when removing from baking sheets to cooling rack. Let cool thoroughly, then assemble using Royal icing (2 egg whites, 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar, 1/2 to 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 lb. confectioners sugar. Beat until stiff.)

A couple of things: Roll out the dough right on the cookie sheets, cut your pieces, and peel away the extra dough. A lot easier than trying to transfer the pieces from rolling board to sheets. Leave some space between pieces; this dough tends to spread a bit. It also has a tendency to crack a little when you take it off the baking sheet if you use a small spatula to move it. I went out and invested in one with a 5"x3" blade. The cookie isnt too sweet, but nice and spicy.

I spent the whole day with my mom, helping her make cookies for Christmas gifts. Somewhere around 600 cookies later, Im finally home.... Anyway,

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