It's a Ginger Man Day...

Truly Ginger CookiesMakes 6 dozen cookies.

Mix together:

½ cup – Soft shortening (can use part butter for flavor) I use all butter.

1 cup – Brown sugar (packed)1 egg

1 cup – molasses (unsulfered)

½ cup – evaporated milkGrated rind of 1 orange (about 1 Tbl.) fresh

Sift together:

5 cups - Flour

1 tea. – baking soda

1 tea. – Ginger powder

1 tea. – Cinnamon powder

½ tea. – Ground cloves

½ tea. – Ground allspice

½ tea. - Salt

Mix all ingredients together with a wisk, then mix in with above ingredients.

Chill thoroughly. Roll out 1/8 to ¼ inch thick, on lightly floured cloth covered board. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees. May be iced.

Special instructions:

1) If using butter, let it sit out till it is very soft. This is a must if you want a smooth mixture.

2) Use a fresh orange for the grated orange peel.

3) The dough will get hard to mix, so be patient with it. Wash hands really good and dry them and mix the last bit by hand.

4) It is important to let the dough chill before making the cookies. (You can store the dough for quite a while in the frig.) Take it out of the frig and let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes before you start to roll it out. The desired thickness will depend on the type of cookie cutter you are using. An open cutter can use thicker dough. A cutter with a design on the top will need to be thinner. Just experiment an decide for your self how thick you want to roll the dough.

5) A well floured board will work for making the cookies as well as a floured pastry cloth.

6) You can use any cookie cutter you wish. If using a cookie cutter that has a pattern on the inside, make sure you flour the cutter first so the dough won’t stick.

7) When you take the cookies out of the oven, let them sit in the pan for at least 1 minute before moving them to a wire rack to cool.

8) When you are ready to put them into tins or on a plate, use a pastry brush to dust off any excess flour.

9) These cookies may be iced.