Cookie Dough

Ingredients

• 5 cups all-purpose flour, spoon in and level
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup molasses

Royal Icing

Ingredients

• 3 large egg whites
• 1 1-pound box confectioners' sugar
• ½ teaspoon strained lemon juice or white vinegar
• Paste food coloring
• Nutmeats, raisins, colored sugar, or holiday candies for decorating

Procedure

1. Mix the flour with the spices, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and brown sugar by hand or in an electric mixer set on medium speed with the paddle attachment for a minute or so, until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating smooth after each addition. Decrease speed to lowest and beat in half the flour mixture. Stop and scrape bowl and beater. Beat in the molasses. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until a smooth dough forms.
3. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to give the dough a final mixing. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, cover it with another, and press it out about 1/2-inch thick. Slide the package onto a cookie sheet and chill until firm, about an hour. You may keep the dough refrigerated for several days before baking the cookies
4. When you are ready to bake the cookies, set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
5. Using about a third of the dough at a time and leaving the rest refrigerated, roll it on a floured surface, also lightly flouring the top of the dough, a little less that 1/4-inch thick. Use floured cutters to cut the cookies and place them on one of the prepared pans, arranging the about an inch apart in all directions. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, then re-roll the scraps to make more cookies. Bake the cookies until they are just firm when pressed with a fingertip, about 12 to 15 minutes. Slide the papers from the pans to racks to cool.

1. For the icing, combine the egg white and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on low speed with the paddle until smooth. Add the lemon juice and increase the speed to medium. Beat the icing until it is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Scrape the icing into separate containers and add coloring, or leave it in the bowl. Either way, cover each quantity of icing with plastic wrap pressed against the surface and a wet paper towel. Use a pastry bag fitted with a small plan or star tube to pipe the icing on the cookies. Add any solid decorations immediately so that they stick to the still-wet icing. Let the cookies dry before storing them.
3. Note: You may use 6 tablespoons pasteurized egg whites if you don’t want to use raw eggs in the icing. Or use pasteurized powdered egg whites, following the instructions on the package to reconstitute 3 egg whites.
4. Decorate the cookies as soon as they have cooled or store them in any container with a tight-fitting cover between sheets of was paper until you’re ready.