In a 3 qt saucepan over med. heat:
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c mild molasses
2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat.
Add:
2 tsp baking soda
(Mixture will foam up.)
Stir in until melted:
1/2 c butter, cut into chunks
With fork, stir in:
1 egg
Then add:
3 1/2 c flour
Stir in as much as you can.
It will become dry & hard to stir.
Don't worry.
Dump onto a lightly floured surface, knead dough until well
mixed.
Divide dough in half.
Wrap half & set aside so it won't dry
out.
Preheat oven to 325.
Roll to almost 1/4", cut.
If the dough dries out & is to hard to work with, wet your
hands with a little water & knead the dough until
manageable.
Bake 12 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
Remove cookies from tray immediately or they will stick.
If cookies do cool to tray, put tray back in oven for a
minute.
Cool on wire rack.
Store in tightly covered container (with wax layers between
layers) at room temperature up to 2 weeks, or freeze 3 months.
