Holiday Baking: Gingerbread Cookies

Here is the second part of my Holiday Baking series, some fun decorated gingerbread cookies from Southern Living.  I love the recipes in Southern Living, it is a great "hidden" food magazine since it isn't something that is really around the newsstands a lot up here, and as a Bostonian, why would I buy Southern Living, right?  Anyway, these are easy and classic gingerbread cookies.    The recipe after the jump.

Classic Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing (Adapted from Southern Living December 2011 and Martha Stewart Royal Icing)
Ingredients 
1 cup butter, softened 
1 cup sugar 
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
1/4 cup hot water 
1 cup molasses 
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger 
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
For Royal Icing
5 tablespoons Meringue Powder
1 lb box confectioners sugar
1/2 of water 
(This makes a lot, half of this recipe - 8 ounces of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder and 1/4 cup of water is enough to frost most of these cookies, though not all of them)
Decorative Sugar
Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar in standing mixer with paddle attachment until the mixture is fluffy.
2. Combine the baking soda with 1/4 cup of hot water and stir until dissolved.  Mix in the molasses.
3. Stir together the flour and next four ingredients.
4. With mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the molasses mixture, ending with the flour.
5. Shape the mixture into a ball and wrap with plastic.  Chill for 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 350.
7. Line two or three baking sheets with parchment.
8. Take dough and roll out into a large rectangle 1/4 inch thick.  Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
9. Lay cookies on parchment lined sheets.  
10. Bake cookies until puffed and browned, about 12 - 15 minutes.
11. Let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes then carefully remove cookies from sheet and let cool completely on rack.
12. When cookies are cooled, start icing.
13. Combine the meringue powder, sugar and water in mixer with whisk attachment.  Beat on medium spread for several minutes(7-8) until the frosting is thick and glossy and increased in volume.  For a better tasting frosting, add half a teaspoon of vanilla.
14. To frost, add frosting to a plastic bag and snip off the end, treat the bag like a little piping bag and pipe frosting.
15. Immediately sprinkle with decorating sugar since the royal icing dries quickly!