Henley Molasses Cookies

My sister strongly encouraged me to make these cookies which were "the best she'd ever had". Since I have given her many plates of cookies I figured that was her way of telling me that I need not fill a plate with any confection for her other than these. I made them and have eaten over three dozen of them myself in the past couple days and will say they are tasty, and will be even more so if you follow the recipe better than I did. Here are the real instructions.

*5 1/2 c. flour

*1 TBSP salt

*1 TBSP. baking soda

*2 tsp. cinnamon

*2 tsp. ginger

*2 tsp. cloves

*3/4 c. shortening

*1 c. sugar

*1 1/2 c. dark molasses

*4 1/2 TBSP. vinegar

*2 eggs

*1/2 c. milk

In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Set aside. In a larger bowl, cream sugar and shortening. Add molasses and mix well. Add vinegar, eggs and milk. Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Wrap in plastic and chill overnight. Roll dough out onto liberally floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out and bake on parchment lined baking sheets at 400 for 8-12 minutes. (This is a little tricky because they are so dark I had a hard time telling when they were done and overcooked mine. The last batch I cooked for exactly 8 minutes and they turned out the best). I used 2 1/2" circle cutters and got about 7 dozen cookies. I frosted them with cream cheese frosting (but according to said sister, didn't use enough, so double this recipe). These should have the texture of a very soft sugar cookie with the flavor of a mild gingerbread. I actually thought they were best on day two.