Gingerbread Cookies Try-It-Tuesday

I have had alot of you ask for the recipe to make all these lovely Gingerbread Cookies and they are wonderful, as long as you do a few tricks! So here we go....Gingerbread Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

3 1/2 cup flours

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cloves

1/3 cup water

Cream butter and sugar thoroughly - takes about 3 minutes. Beat in molasses and water. Add all dry ingredients and mix well. Dough should be still sticky but smooth and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Place in a greased bowl and chill overnight. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 1/2 inch thickness (very important to keep them thick) and cut into desired shapes. Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes, just till they start to crack. Cook longer if you like brickettes instead of cookies. Let cool completely.

Frosting
1 16 oz pkg powdered sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tarter

3 egg whites at room temperature (very important to be at room temp.)

1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients until smooth, if it is too dry add a drop or two of water till it is nice consistency. Icing dries very quickly so keep covered with a damp cloth. I usually place some in a ziploc baggy and cut of the end and just squeeze it out all over the cookies and decorate with your favorite goodies. If you make the frosting a little less stiff by adding more water it does not dry to rock hard - break a tooth- consistency. You will have plenty of frosting so goop it on.

Store them in a covered container and they will remain soft for weeks. I have never had any remain around that long but they stay good for a while.

Enjoy!!!