John's Roll-Out Molasses Cookies

A coworker of mine gave me this recipe. There isn't one exactly like it on Zaar, in that it uses allspice and has no eggs. It is a dense, spicy cookie that is rolled out and cut into shapes. Cooking time includes time to chill dough. I have halved the amounts in the original recipe because it made SO many cookies; hence the weird measurement for the shortening. It was originally 1/3 c. shortening, and this is the best I could come up with for getting half of that. Be sure not to roll them thinner than 1/4 - 1/2 inch (nor overbake) so that they keep their good, dense, kinda chewy texture.

• Ready In: 1 hr 58 mins
• Yields: 1 batch

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons shortening
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons shortening
• 3⁄4 cup dark molasses
• 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
• 1⁄4 cup cold water
• 3 1⁄2 cups flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon allspice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon clove
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cold water

Directions

1. Mix together shortening, molasses and brown sugar. Stir in 1/4 cup cold water.
2. Mix together the flour, salt and spices. Add to molasses mixture.
3. Dissolve soda in 1.5 teaspoons cold water. Stir it into the above mixture.
4. Gather up dough into a ball; on waxed paper, pat into a disk. Wrap up. Chill for at least an hour.
5. Roll out between 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch thick. I thought 1/2-inch was a bit too thick, but it's up to you. Cut into shapes, specifically gingerbread men or bears. Gather up scraps, pat into a ball, reroll and cut into shapes, etc., until you have used most of your dough.
6. On lightly greased or sprayed cookie sheets, bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
7. These swell a little during cooking, so be sure to leave some space between them on the cookie sheets. Also, they taste better the day after baking when the spices have had a chance to meld with each other.