Delicious, very easy to put together and rolls out smoothly. The baked dough is strong and rigid to support the weight of candy and icing trims.

1. Thoroughly blend flour, soda, salt and spices. (I don't sift the flour. I mix the dry ingredients for a longer period of time.)
   Melt shortening in large saucepan. Cool slightly. (so not to cook eggs) To liquid shortening add sugar, molasses, and eggs; mix well (remember, the melted shortening should not be so hot as to cook the eggs).
   Add four cups of the blended dry ingredients and mix well. (I pour the liquid mixture directly into the dry ingredients all at once, and knead in additional flour if necessary.) Preheat oven to 350'F.

2. Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface. Knead in remaining dry ingredients by hand. Add a little more flour, if necessary, to make a firm dough.

3. Roll out dough on the backs of lightly oiled cookie sheets. Time baking according to thickness of rolled dough. For large pieces, 1/8" thick, bake as long as fourteen minutes. For smaller pieces, rolled thinly, six or seven minutes may be enough. Check frequently to avoid over-browning. Remove from cookie sheets to wire racks with a large spatula. Cool about 30 minutes. Then cover a flat surface with paper toweling and place baked pieces on it to dry overnight.
   (The trick I have discovered is this: If I want to make the most out of my dough, I roll out the dough on the cookie sheet and cut the pattern on the dough. I remove the dough remnants and roll out the dough again for more pieces. I get brown edges on my pieces, but then I cover it up with icing. If you want consistent color, roll out the dough, cook the sheet, then cut the pattern pieces immediately into the hot cookie. You will have even color and straight edges; but you might run out of dough, and you will have a great amount of cooked cookies to consume. This can be OK if you have enough people around to eat the baked remnants.)

4. Wrap unused dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate to keep for weeks. Bring to room temperature and knead briefly to use again.
   Yield: enough for any medium size project.
   

This icing makes a perfect glistening "snow", very easy to stroke on. Keep utensils grease-free, grease will break down the icing. Use a stationary electric mixer.

One of the quickest and easiest candies you can make! Be sure to use molds designed for high temperatures. And cook in a heavy saucepan, no more than two-quart capacity.