7 1/2Cupsgluten free 1-1 flour mixwith xanthan gum in it (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 2 tsp of it now)
1Tbspground ginger
1Tbspcinnamon
1/2tspground cloves
1/4tspground allspice
1/2tspbaking soda
1/4tspsalt
For the icing to decorate:
1/2Cuppasteurized egg whites
4 1/2 - 5Cupssifted powdered sugar
Food coloringoptional
Additional candies for decoratingoptional
Instructions
To make the cookies:
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and packed brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and molasses and beat to combine. Add in the spices, salt and baking powder and beat until smooth. Using a strong wooden spoon, begin stirring in the flour, one cup at a time. It will get stiff and difficult to stir in the last two cups, but keep working it together! It should not be sticky, and should mold easily into a ball and hold its shape. Split the dough in two parts, pat into a large ball, and wrap both in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least two hours.
Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350° and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and grease lightly with cooking spray. Roll one dough ball out at a time to 1cm (a little more than 1/4 inch) thickness between two sheets of wax paper and use cookie cutters to cut out your cookies! Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on the cookies sheets, and then freeze cookies on sheets for 15 minutes before baking.
Once frozen, bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm on the edges and dry to the touch. Let cool completely before decorating.
To make the decorating icing:
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the pasteurized egg whites until foamy. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, continuing to beat until thick and smooth. You're looking for a thick consistency, not runny, that you can pipe onto cookies. If you want to, scoop 1/2 cup of the icing into small bowls and mix with food coloring before scooping each color into clean piping bags. Snip off a tiny tip of each piping back before decorating cookies.