MOTHER'S ICED MOLASSES COOKIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream Crisco shortening and sugar. Add molasses and eggs. Mix well. Then add water and vanilla; mix.
• Add dry ingredients - flour, soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. Mix well until all is blended together.
• Drop by tablespoon full onto a greased cookie sheet or line your pan with parchment paper for easy cleanup. (I used a small ice cream scoop to drop my mixture). This is a creamy mixture and makes a lot of cookies. These cookies freeze very well.
• Bake for 9 minutes. Do not overbake. Ovens vary and I have a new oven and it took 9 minutes. You may want to check at 7 minutes if you do smaller cookies. Let cool and frost.
• For frosting, I just used 1 stick of butter, 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Mix well and frost your cooled cookies.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, molasses and water. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. round cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool. , For frosting, combine the sugar, egg whites and water in a small heavy saucepan over low heat. With a hand mixer, beat on low speed for 1 minute. Continue beating on low over low heat until frosting reaches 160°, about 8-10 minutes. Pour into the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer; add confectioners' sugar. Beat on high until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 7 minutes. Frost cookies. Let stand until dry.