Gingerbread Dough For Structures

2/3 c Shortening

1/2 c Sugar

1/2 c Blackstrap molasses

1 Egg

3 c Flour

1 ts Baking soda

1 ts Baking powder

1 ts Cinnamon

1 ts Ginger

1 ts Cloves

1/2 ts Nutmeg

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 isn`t 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, I`m finally home.... Anyway, she gave me permission to divulge her gingerbread recipe, so here it is. * The Polka Dot Palace BBS 1-201-822-3627. Posted by EPONA