4 1/3 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. cloves
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
3/4 c. shortening
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. light molasses
1 tbsp. rum extract
1/3 c. water

Mix and sift flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Cream shortening and sugar. Add molasses and rum extract; beat well. Add flour mixture and water alternately, beating until well blended after each addition. Wrap dough in foil; chill overnight.

Roll dough one-half at a time, about 1/4-inch thick. Cut with floured 4-inch round cookie cutter. Bake, on lightly greased cookie sheet, at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

After Uncle Joe died, his daughter gave the recipe to a fisherman's wife, and soon most of the women in town were making the cookies. Children bought them for a penny apiece in a local bake shop and today they are served in the Publick House in the colonial village in Sturbridge, Mass.

Serve them with a pitcher of cold milk or with a frosty cold fruit punch.