Step 1

Place the shortening, granulated sugar, and molasses in a medium saucepan and set over medium low heat. Cook, occasionally stirring with a whisk, until the crisco has melted completely. Remove from heat and pour the mixture into a large bowl. Set aside to cool slightly (the shortening should still be liquid just not hot!).

Step 2

Once the mixture has cooled slightly add the egg and vanilla extract to the bowl, whisking until smooth and glossy.

Step 3

Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt to the mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold together until combined and no streaks of flour remain. The dough will be soft and a little sticky—don’t worry it will firm up in the fridge! Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap or tin foil, shaping into a disc, seal and chill for at least 2 hours but up to 2 days!

Step 4

When you’re ready to roll out the cookies preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Step 5

Lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters (we used a 3-inch gingerbread man!) and cut out cookies. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared pan and bake for 8 to 9 minutes for full size cookies (if you do smaller cookies you’ll want to bake them for less time!) The edges should be lightly brown but still slightly underbaked in the middle—this will keep them super soft and moist! Do not overbake unless you like crisp, harder cookies! Place the cookies on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Step 6

Once the cookies are completely cool, make the royal icing. Combine the egg white, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. If the frosting feels too thick add 1/4 teaspoon of water at a time. If the frosting feels too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip and decorate the cooled cookies! Enjoy!