This recipe is from The Farmhouse at Nauset Beach, a bed and breakfast in East Orleans, Massachusetts

The dough is very spongy & cakey but the spicy cookies are very hard and good for dunking in tea!                   

Ingredients:                           

1.  3 cups of all-purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. ¾ teaspoon baking soda
4. 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
5. 1/ teaspoon ground cloves
6. ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
7. ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
8. ¼ cup shortening
9. 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temp
10. ¾ cup brown sugar
11. ¾ cup molasses
12. 1/3 cup water
13. 2 tablespoons sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, spices, and set aside.
2. Cream together the shortening, butter, and brown sugar until fluffy.Beat in molasses and water.
3. Add the dry ingredients beating until well blended.
4. The dough will be very cakey.  Place the mixing bowl in the refrigerator for about an hour.  Remove the dough from the bowl, scraping the sides, and divide into two balls wrapping them in plastic wrap.  Chill dough 2 hours. to overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper

1.  The dough will be soft, but very easy to handle. Roll out dough to a 3/16”thickness.
2. Cut into 3”rounds with cookie cutter and place 2”apart on baking sheet.  Sprinkle cookies generously with sugar.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks.