Liebkuchen

1 cup golden molasses
1 cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
¼ cup sour milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup finely chopped or ground nuts
1 cup finely chopped or ground dates
3 cups flour
vanilla icing
colored sugar or other cookie decorations

Preheat oven to 350°. Heat molasses and sugar until very hot and bubbly. Cool and add all ingredients but the flour. Add enough flour (2¾ to 3 cups) to make a very stiff batter. Drop by teaspoons and flatten slightly on a greased cookie sheet. Bake until lightly brown. Cool and ice with favorite vanilla icing, and decorate with colored candy confetti, sprinkles or colored sugar.

Cookies will be very hard. Store in a tight-lidded container for a week or until cookies become very moist and chewy. A fresh apple slice may be added to the container to hasten the "ripening" process. Serve only as many cookies as will be eaten and keep the remainder tightly sealed.