Sugar & Spice & Happy Valentine’s Day Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2
  
  cup softened butter
  
• 1/2
  
  cup vegetable shortening
  
• 1 1/2
  
  cups granulated sugar
  
• 1/2
  
  cup dark molasses
  
• 2
  
  eggs
  
• 4
  
  cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2
  
  teaspoon salt
  
• 2 1/4
  
  teaspoons baking soda
  
• 2 1/2
  
  teaspoons ground ginger
  
• 1 1/2
  
  teaspoons ground cloves
  
• 1 1/2
  
  teaspoons ground cinnamon
  
• 
  
  red and/or pink decorating sugar
  
• 
  
  heart-shaped cookie cutters of small/medium size
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and shortening together until well-mixed, 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture is fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, and add molasses. Beat until smooth.
5. In a separate large bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon together. Gradually add to the wet mixture in the mixing bowl until dough is blended and smooth.
6. Refrigerate dough ~30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap.
7. On a floured surface, roll out 1/4 of the dough to between 0.5-1.0 cm thick. Cut out heart shapes and decorate the top with red/pink sugar. If sugar is not sticking, you can brush the tops with a little water or milk to help stick. I have a really small heart-shaped cookie cutter so I just fill a small bowl with the sugar and plop the little hearts in there, swirling them around to coat the entire surface.
8. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are just browning around the edges. These cookies will spread quite a bit, so leave plenty of room between cookies on the cookie sheet.
9. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!