Gingerbread Cookies

This is a must-have recipe for your holiday baking. Makes about 4 dozen.
Chilling the dough before and after cutting into shapes makes for neater, crisper cookies. You can bake and ice the cookies up to one week ahead; store in an air-tight container at room temperature...or put them in the freezer...they are sooo good cold with a glass of milk!!!!

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for baking sheets
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 tsp. ground ginger
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsulphured molasses
1 recipe Royal Icing

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. In a bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add spices, slat, and beat until combined. Beat in molasses.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat on low speed until combined. Turn out dough onto plastic wrap; flatten into a disk. rap; chill 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface; roll out 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters, and arrange on greased baking sheets.

Bake until firm, about 12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely before icing. Decorate with royal icing and anything you wish.