Gingerbread

By carvalhohm

Ingredients

• 5 – 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon ground
• 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg ground
• 1 teaspoon cloves ground
• 1 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups unsulphured molasses
• 2 eggs beaten

Details

Adapted from slice-heaven.com

Preparation

Step 1

• Preheat oven to 375°. Thoroughly mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

• Melt shortening in large saucepan. Cool slightly. Add sugar, molasses and eggs; mix well.

• Add four cups of dry ingredients and mix again. Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface. Knead in remaining dry ingredients by hand. Add a little more flour, if necessary, to make the dough firm.

• Roll out on lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out cookie jar pieces. Lay on backside of cookie sheet or baking sheet without sides. Make your pattern pieces of heavy cardboard. Lay them on the dough and using sharp knife or pizza cutter. Bake as many pieces as you can from rolled dough on your cookie sheet, leaving at least 1/2” inch between pieces.

• If windows are desired cut out with sharp knife and fill with clear crushed Lifesaver candies before baking for stained glass or paned look.

• Bake 10-15 minutes depending on size of your piece.

• Remove from oven and while still HOT RE-CUT SIDE pieces, by laying pattern on top of HOT gingerbread to re-cut again.

If you´re not going to use all gingerbread dough right away, wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate. Refrigerated dough will keep for a week. Bring to room temperature, about 3 hours prior to rolling.

*Substitute 1 1/4 cups light corn syrup for molasses to make Blonde Gingerbread. Recipe may be doubled.