INGREDIENTS

FOR THE COOKIES:
5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup Fewster’s honey
½ cup unsulfured molasses
fine sugar for dusting

FOR THE ICING:
4 cups Icing sugar
3 large egg whites

METHOD

STEP 1
Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and spices in a large bowl. Beat together butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then honey and molasses. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour mixture until well combined. Divide dough into thirds, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable, about 1 hour.

STEP 2
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Working with a third of dough a a time, roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness on generously floured parchment. Brush off excess flour, transfer dough on parchment to a baking sheet, and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Cut into shape with cookie cutters, rerolling scraps as needed. Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Bake until edges turn golden, about 15 minutes, rotating once and firmly rapping baking sheet halfway through baking to flatten any bubbles in cookies. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets set on wire racks.

STEP 3
To make the icing, place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat using the whisk attachment until frothy. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and mix well. Gradually add the remaining 3 3/4 cups sugar, beating on low speed and scraping down the sides. Increase the speed to high and continue to beat the mixture until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. At this stage, the icing will be very thick. Add water, a few drops at a time, to thin it to the consistency appropriate for the kind of decorating you are doing.

STEP 4
Place icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip. Pipe outlines and details on cookies. Immediately sprinkle with fine sugar, and tap off excess. Let set completely, uncovered, at room temperature, at least 4 hours or (ideally) overnight.

Enjoy!