Ingredients

Before you start

Method

Preparing the dough

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, ginger powder, cinnamon, and salt into a medium bowl. Finely grind the cloves and peppercorns using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, then add them to the bowl. Add the grated ginger.
2. Put the butter, brown sugar, honey, and molasses in a large bowl or saucepan. Warm up the mixture in a microwave or on the stovetop just enough to make the blending easier. Using a wooden spoon, beat the mixture until it is homogeneous, then pour some of it into the dry ingredients. Add the egg to the medium bowl with the dry ingredients, then stir until the mixture forms a soft dough. Transfer the dough to the large bowl and stir until all the ingredients are well blended and the dough has a "pie dough" consistency.
3. Divide the dough into thirds. Gather each third into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap then refrigerate it until firm, about ½ hour. The cooling step will make the dough easier to roll. (The dough can be prepared ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or up to 2 months in the freezer).

Shaping and baking the cookies

4. Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350º. Line a large baking sheet (about 30 x 38 cm) with parchment paper. Depending on the cookies' size and thickness, this recipe will yield about 60 cookies, and fill 3 standard-size baking sheets.
5. Lightly flour a work surface. Place 1 ball of dough on the work surface (keep the remaining 2 balls of dough refrigerated). Flatten the dough into a disk, then use the rolling pin to further flatten it to about 1 cm for easier final rolling. Roll out the dough to a 2-3 mm thickness or less, frequently lifting and turning the dough to prevent sticking. Using a variety of cookie cutters, cut out the cookies, then transfer them to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 5 mm apart. Gather the dough scraps together and repeat the operation.
6. Bake the cookies in the middle of the oven until they turn light brown around the edges, about 8-10 min depending on the cookies' size and thickness. Let the cookies stand on the sheet 1 min, then using a metal spatula transfer them to racks and let them cool completely.
7. Repeat the rolling, cutting, and baking with the remaining 2 dough balls as described above, making sure to cool the cookie sheet a few minutes between batches.
8. When completely cooled, the cookies may be stored in airtight containers at room temperature.