Gingerbread cookies

For Christmas this year we decided to make gingerbread cookies with the new moose cookie cutter that Linda got for us.  Thanks Linda.  The cookie dough from this recipe is very soft and needs a lot of flour on your work surface.  you also need to work with th edough in small quantities and keep it very cold or you end up with a sticky mess.  The simpler cutouts like the hearts are much easier, but the moose is too cute!  This makes a lot of cookies, so we cut the recipe in half since we were making several other kinds of cookies at the same time.

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and parchment
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

Instructions:

• 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, at lease an hour.
• Working with a third of dough at a time (or less), roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness on generously floured work surface. Brush off excess flour, transfer dough on parchment to a baking sheet, and freeze until firm, a least 15 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the freezer and cut into shapes with cookie cutters, rerolling scraps as needed. Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until edges turn golden, about 15 minutes.  Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets set on wire racks.
• Pipe outlines and decorations on cookies with royal icing.  Let set completely, uncovered, at room temperature, at least 4 hours or (ideally) overnight.