Gingerbread Cutouts

You can now buy ready-to-use Decorator's Icing in easy-to-squeeze tubes. Look for it in stores where cake decorating supplies are sold

INGREDIENTS

Basic Cookie Dough (see recipe index to find this)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup dark molasses
Ornamental Frosting (optional)
Small red candies (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Prepare Basic Cookie Dough, but in step 1, increase baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon total and add spices to flour mixture. In step 2, reduce butter to 1 stick, sub stitute dark brown sugar for granulated, and add molasses with egg and vanilla.
Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Flatten each into a disk; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight, until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll 1 disk of dough 1/8 inch thick. Remove top sheet of waxed paper. With floured 3- to 4-inch holiday-shaped cookie cutters, cut out as many cookies as possible; wrap and refrigerate trimmings. Place cookies, 1 inch apart, on ungreased large cookie sheet.
Bake cookies 11 to 13 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings.
When cookies are cool, prepare Ornamental Frosting if you like; add small red candies to decorate. Set cookies aside to allow frosting to dry, about 1 hour.
Store cookies (putting sheets of waxed paper between layers if decorated) in tightly sealed container at room temperature up to 2 weeks or in freezer up to 3 months.