Recipe - Ginger Cookies

3 One half cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1 One half teaspoon Ginger
1 One half teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Cloves
One fourth teaspoon Cardamom
One half cup Sweet butter
Three fourths cup Sugar
1 Egg
Three fourths cup Molasses
One half teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoon Grated orange rind

This gingery cookie is crisp and has a hint of orange flavor. It is ideal
for gingerbread people or holiday cookie shapes.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and spices. In a medium
bowl, cream butter and sugar together, then add egg, molasses, salt and
orange rind. Mix well. Stir into dry ingredients. Form dough into a ball
shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 375ø. Roll out to 1/4inch thick on floured surface. Cut
into desired shapes. Place shapes unto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at
375ø for 810 minutes until lightly browned around edges. Transfer to wire
racks to cool.

Note: Dough will keep up to one week, refrigerated. Cookies can be stored
up to 3 weeks in cookie tins.

Variation: Decorate cookies with raisins, colored sugar, silver dots, etc.
before cooking. Or ice them after they have cooled.

Yield: 3 One half dozen. Amanda Cushman, freelance recipe developer and food
writer, New York, NY

Randy Shearer

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini