Honey Spice Gingerbread Cookies

Courtesy of Martha Stewart 
Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 6 hours
Servings: 58 4-inch cookies 

Ingredients

• 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and parchment
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened.
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup Dutchman’s Gold Summer Blossom honey
• ½ cup unsulfured molasses
• Martha's Favorite Royal Icing
• Fine sanding sugar

Directions:

1. Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and spices in a large bowl.
2. Beat together butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then honey and molasses.
3. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour mixture until well combined. Divide dough into thirds and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F .
5. Working with a third of dough at a time, roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness on generously floured parchment. Brush off excess flour, transfer dough on parchment to a baking sheet, and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
6. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters, rerolling scraps as needed. Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
7. Bake until edges turn golden, about 15 minutes, rotating once and firmly rapping baking sheet halfway through baking to flatten any bubbles in cookies.
8. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets set on wire racks. 
9. Place icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip (ATECO #0, 1, or 2). Pipe outlines and details on cookies. Immediately sprinkle with sanding sugar and tap off excess.
10. Let set completely, uncovered, at room temperature, at least 4 hours or (ideally) overnight.