1993 1st place: ginger cookies

1 c  Granulated sugar
    1/2 c  Dark corn syrup
    1/2 c  Water
      1 tb Ground ginger
      2 ts Cinnamon
      2 ts Ground cloves
      1 c  Unsalted butter or margarine
      4 c  All-purpose flour
  1 1/2 ts Baking soda
           Liquid food coloring,
           If desired
 

    time: 7 minutes
  
     1. Put sugar, syrup, water, ginger, cinnamon and cloves into a large
    saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and sugar
    dissolves. Remove from heat. Add butter. Stir until butter is melted
    and mixture is no longer very hot.
  
     2. Mix flour and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixture to butter
    mixture and stir to blend thoroughly. Dough will have a soft texture.
    Place dough in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight or at
    least 12 hours or as long as 1 week.
  
     3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove about one-sixth of the dough and
    knead it until it is slightly softened. Roll dough directly onto
    ungreased cookie sheets until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Use a
    cookie cutter to stamp shapes in dough, allowing a 1-inch margin
    between each cookie. Remove excess dough by lifting it and peeling it
    away. Scraps of dough can be kneaded together and re-rolled.
  
     4. Bake until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Allow cookies to cool
    slightly and become crisp before removing them from the cookie sheet.
    Cool thoroughly on wire racks. If desired, you may "paint" the cooled
    cookies using a clean, small paintbrush and food coloring that has
    been watered down slightly. Store cookies in airtight containers.
      Note: After the 12-hour resting period, this cookie dough can be
    hand-molded like clay--rolled, pinched, poked and pressed--and it
    will keep its shape, expanding slightly while baking. Thin cookies
    will become brown and bake quickly, large and thick shapes will
    require longer baking. Can be cut into any shape desired but make the
    cookies uniformly thick. The microwave oven can be used to cook the
    sugar mixture in step 1.
  
    Judith Taylor, Highland Park from the Chicago Tribune sixth annual
    Food Guide Holiday Cookie Contest December 2, 1993
 
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