Swedish Gingerbread Cookies

[nverland]

Swedish Gingerbread Cookies
Total Time Prep: 15 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 large egg
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
FROSTING:
3 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 to 5 tablespoons water
Red Hots, optional

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, in a bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, shortening, vanilla and enough water to reach spreading consistency. Decorate cookies with frosting and, if desired, Red Hots.
Freeze option: Transfer wrapped disks to a resealable plastic freezer bag; freeze. To use, thaw dough in refrigerator overnight or until soft enough to roll. Prepare, bake and decorate cookies as directed.