These turned out really well, and my kids loved cutting them out and decorating them. (**Don't be discouraged by the amount of dough - it makes a LOT more cookies than it looks like it will.) After adding the ginger, I substituted an equal amount of Pumpkin Pie Spice (2 tsp.) for all the other individual spices, and it worked perfectly. I will be pretty generous with the spices next time, though - by the time my 14-year-old worked in enough flour to handled the dough, it was a little bit diluted. Still yummy, and we'll probably make them a few more times this holiday season. **Just remember to use a pastry brush to get all the excess flour off your cookies (top AND bottom) before placing them on the baking sheet - prettier and tastier!

Just okay. I agree that too much cloves leaves an aftertaste. Dough is sticky --I'd add another 1/2 cup of flour. Separate the dough into 3 small amounts to chill. Don't overbake because the cookies'll dry rock hard. Had a hard time not overbaking because they were so soft and looked raw in the middle, but the ones I removed on time cooled perfectly soft but not mushy. My cookies spread, & my Better Homes & Garden cookie mag says it might be caused by using margarine w/ "less than 80 percent vegetable oil" and putting the dough on hot cookie sheets. BH&G says your margarine should be at least 100 calories per T. I didn't know that about the hot cookie sheet either, so next time I'll alternate sheets. I love the idea of rolling the dough on parchment, cutting the shapes, removing scraps, & baking on the parchment. I prefer the Joe Froggers recipe on this site, which is easier to roll, eggless, uses shortening (which doesn't compete with the spices), and 1/2 as much cloves for 2x as much flour! But I do like the cinammon in this recipe so I'll add some to my Froggers. Also, just FYI for anyone getting psyched to make gingerbread cookies this season, my Better Homes & Garden cookie mag says this about dark vs. light molasses: "When describing molasses, light refers only to flavor, not color or calorie or sugar content. Light is sweet in flavor. Dark molasses is not as sweet but has a distinctive robust flavor. Light and dark are interchangeable in recipes."

I have tweaked this recipe, after a few attempts, to perfection (for my tastes). First of all, I think the variances in dough texture people are having is in the way they measure their flour. I am one of those bakers that measures flour by spooning it into the measuring cup lightly and using a knife to level off. The first time I made these(exactly as the recipe states) the dough was like mush. I ended up working in an extra cup of flour with my hands. I rolled in between two pieces of parchment because of the toughness extra flour always adds to cut-outs. The cookies were tasty but to floury with a cardboard texture. I finally ended up using 1 and 1/2 cups flour. I substituted 3/4 c brown sugar for the white sugar, because I thought they needed to be sweeter as well, and I thought the brown sugar would help to keep them moist. I used a 3 inch gingerbread cutter and cooked for 7 minutes. Delicious, soft and chewy. The spices are perfect, it is a spicy cookie just as the recipe says. I used white chocolate to pipe on the features, buttons, bowties, and scarfs. Not only are they adorable, they are out-of-this-world tasting. I will try to upload a picture later today. Thanks Eileen, at last, a gingerbread man I can actually eat!!!