Gingerbread (for biscuits and houses)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon clove

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup margarine

1 egg, beaten

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a medium saucepan, heat sugar, molasses, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves to boiling, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat; stir in soda (it will foam up).

Stir in margarine till melted.

With a fork, stir in egg, then flour.

On a floured surface, knead dough till mixed. Divide dough in half, wrap half with plastic wrap; set aside.

Roll half the dough, with a rolling pin, slightly thinner than 1/4 inch.

Cut with cutters.

Bake at 180 C on a cookie sheet for 12 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 3 dozen gingerbread people.

NOTE: We make houses by cutting out our house design (the 2 sides of the roof, two sides, front and back of the house) on graph paper, and then placing the graph paper shapes on the dough and cutting the dough shapes out with a knife.