Grandma's Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

Directions

1. Cream the vegetable shortening, lard, and brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the rest of the wet ingredients.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, then gradually mix in to the wet ingredients (about a third at a time). The dough should be slightly stiff, so add up to an additional 1/2 cup of flour if needed. Chill for several hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 350º F, with racks in the upper and lower middle positions. Roll out the dough on lightly floured surface or between 2 layers of parchment to 1/4-inch thickness. The less flour you use for rolling, the more tender the cookies will be.
4. Cut into desired shapes and transfer to cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Sprinkle with sugar while warm or allow to cool and frost with American buttercream or royal icing as desired. (My grandma would top some with sugar, and some with frosting. We would commonly decorate them as a family for Christmas.)