Old-Fashioned Ginger Thins

Cream butter and sugars together in a mixer until fluffy and lightened in color. Beat in molasses and egg until well combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until well combined. (If the mixture seems too dry, add in up to 2 Tablespoons of water, a few drops at a time. You want a dough wet enough to hold together, but not overly sticky. It must be sturdy enough to roll out. Wrap dough in wax paper and chill until firm (30-60 minutes) or up to a few days until ready to bake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Divide dough into 2-4 smaller portions (whatever size you feel comfortable rolling out) and roll out onto greased cookie sheets to about 1/4″ thick. Try to keep the dough in a rough rectangle shape. (If you’re precise, you can trim the egdes with a knife to make a true rectangle. You’ll be cutting the dough into strips after it bakes, so you want a fairly uniform shape to assist in this effort.) Bake for 12-14 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Do not over-bake.

Let cookies cool for 3-5 minutes, then use a table knife to cut the dough into strips, about 1″ by 4″. Do not separate the strips. Let cookies cool completely before icing.

To ice, mix all icing ingredients together until fairly smooth (a few lumps are OK; they’ll get smoothed out during icing.) Pour a small amount onto each large rectangle and use a spoon to spread it over all the cookies. A little icing goes a long way – you’re going for a glaze, not a thick amount of icing. Let icing harden before separating and storing.