2cupsall-purpose flour plus up to 1 more cupif needed
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonground ginger
1teaspoonground cinnamon
½teaspoonground nutmeg
½teaspoonground cloves
½cupor 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
½cupgranulated sugar
½cupplus 2 tablespoons molasses
1large egg
Royal Icing
4cupsconfectioners' sugar
3tablespoonsmeringue powder
1/2teaspooncream of tartar
6tablespoonswarm water and more if needed
Instructions
Gingerbread Dough
Preheat oven to 375° F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, blend together 2 cups of the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, molasses, and egg. Mix well.
Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and mix well on medium speed.
Add tablespoonfuls of the remaining 1 cup of flour, if needed, to make a moist ball of dough. You may not use all of the flour. Divide in half.
Spray the underside of a large, flat sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Using a rolling pin, roll out 1 half of the dough to cover most of the sheet pan. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick.
Cut out cookies with cookie cutters. Using a sharp knife, remove excess dough around each cookie. Place scraps back with the remaining dough to re-roll.
Bake off the pieces you have just made. They should take approximately 6-8 minutes depending upon how large they are. They should be lightly brown. Do not allow them to get too dark. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
Repeat rolling out the remaining dough and bake off the cookies.
Using a pastry bag, decorate cookies with royal icing.
Royal Icing
In the bowl of an electric mixer using the whip attachment, blend the sugar, meringue powder, and cream of tartar on low speed until well combined.
On medium-high speed, add the water and put the mixer on high speed for approximately 6-7 minutes and mix until the icing is light and fluffy.
Add more water by the teaspoonful to thin the frosting out, if necessary.
To prevent icing from drying out, cover bowl with a moist paper towel or plastic wrap until ready to use.