SWEDISH CHRISTMAS GINGER SNAPS (PEPPARKAKOR)

Steps:

• Put butter into a large mixing bowl. Combine water, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in a saucepan. Heat to boiling, boil 1 minute, stirring. Pour hot spice mixture over butter; stir to melt butter. Sift flour, measure 2 cups, and sift again with baking soda. Add to spice mixture; stir to blend thoroughly. Cover dough tightly or wrap in waxed paper or aluminum foil. Chill in refrigerator 12 hours or overnight. Cut off small, workable portions of dough. Roll each out very thin (about 1/8" thick) on a lightly floured board. Cut into shapes with fancy cooky cutters. With flexible spatula, lift cookies onto greased baking sheet. Bake in a moderately hot oven (375 degrees farenheit) about 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Make icing: Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Beat in vanilla and enough powdered sugar so that mixture holds soft peaks when beater is lifted. Spoon icing into force bag. Decorate cooled cookies. Variation: Do not roll out chilled dough. Instead, pinch off small portions and roll, between palms, into balls about 3/4" in diameter. Drop balls into granulated sugar to coat all sides. Bake as for cut-out cookies.