Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder 
• 0.3 cup firmly brown sugar packed
• 1 large eggs 
• 2.8 cups flour all-purpose
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 
• 0.5 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger 
• 0.8 cup blackstrap molasses 
• 0.5 cup salad oil 
• 0.5 teaspoon salt 

Equipment

• bowl
• baking sheet
• oven
• blender
• plastic wrap
• rolling pin

Directions

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat molasses, oil, brown sugar, and egg until well blended.
2. In a medium bowl, mix 2 3/4 cups flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir into molasses mixture, then beat until well blended. Divide dough in half, gather each half into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Unwrap dough. On a lightly floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, roll one disk at a time to about 1/4 inch thick. With floured 3- to 4-inch cutters, cut out cookies.
4. Place about 1 inch apart on buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets. Gather excess dough into a ball, reroll, and cut out remaining cookies.
5. Bake cookies in a 350 regular or convection oven until edges begin to brown slightly, 8 to 10 minutes; if baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking.
6. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Pipe Powdered Sugar Icing over cookies as desired.
7. Powdered Sugar Icing: In a bowl, stir 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons water, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Tint to desired color by stirring in food coloring, a drop or two at a time. If icing is too thick to work with, stir in more water, a few drops at a time; if too thin, stir in more powdered sugar. Makes 2/3 cup.