Piparkukas - Latvian Christmas Gingerbread

Latvian Christmas gingerbread, known as piparkukas (pronounced pipar-kookas).  
The main thing is to have the spices as fresh as possible.  These will
disappear off your Christmas table before you can say "boo".

Piparkukas

  1/3 cup molasses
  1 cup dark brown sugar
  3 tablespoons of lard
  1/2 cup of butter
  1/3 cup honey
  Approximately 5 cups of flour
  1 teaspoon EACH of cinnamon and ginger
  1-1/2 teaspoons EACH of black pepper, cloves,
  nutmeg, cardamom and coriander
  2 eggs
  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder.

Put the molasses, brown sugar, lard, butter and honey in a pot and
place over medium heat.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the lard,
butter and sugar are melted.  Do not allow to scorch, or the cookies
won't hold together later.  Don't be afraid of the lard -- it means
you don't have to butter your pans, and you won't taste it at all.
Pour the mixture into a large bowl and add 2 and 1/2 cups of the
flour, along with all of the spices.  Stir well.  Let the mixture cool
somewhat.  When it is lukewarm, add the eggs, lightly beaten.  Stir
thoroughly.

Let the mixture cool some more.  When you can handle it easily with
your hands, add the soda and baking powder.  Begin adding additional
flour, stirring as long as you can and then dumping the mixture out on
the table and kneading with your hands.  You should add a total of 2
and 1/4 cups more flour in total, or a bit more.  Initially the dough
will stick to your hands like glue, but in the end you will have a
solid, shiny and very heavy dough.  Allow the dough to rest, covered,
in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

To bake, roll a piece of dough out very thin on a well-floured
surface.  Cut out cookie shapes with cookie cutters.  Place the
cookies on an ungreased baking sheet, not letting them touch one
another (they will not spread during baking, so you can put lots on
the sheet).  Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown -- no more than 5
or 6 minutes in most ovens.  Let the cookies cool a bit and then take
them off the pan.  They will be soft at first and harden as they cool.

You don't have to bake all of the dough at once.  It will keep
perfectly well in the refrigerator, and you can take it out as you
need it.  Straight out of the fridge it will be hard as a rock, but
just knead it a little bit and it will be soft and pliable again.

Merry Christmas, everyone, or as we say in Latvia -- priecigus
Ziemassvetkus!