Instructions

• Place flour, British Cake Spice, Baker’s Salt and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low until combined. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda and set aside.
• Cut the cold shortening into several pieces. Add it to the stand mixer and mix on low to combine.
• Add the vinegar mixture and 1 cup light molasses to the stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined and the dough forms large clumps.
• Divide the dough into 4 portions and form each portion into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF. Line sheet pans with parchment.
• Unwrap 1 disk and place on a lightly floured work surface. Keep the remaining disks refrigerated. Roll out very, very thin – between 1/8 and 1/16th inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and transfer the cookies with a flat or offset spatula onto the baking sheet. They can be very close together. They don’t spread much.
• Bake until the cookies turn an even brown color – they won’t just be browned around the edges – 10 to 11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• Roll out and cut the second portion of dough while the first sheet is baking and place on a second baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough. Gather all the dough scraps and re-roll to make more cookies. Be sure to let the baking sheets cool completely between batches. Place new parchment on the baking sheets as you bake the next batches.