Gingerbread Cookies

I made these cookies for a friend since she had posted on MySpace that she really wanted fully decorated gingerbread cookies. I think they turned out decently, but I probably won't make them again since I'm not hugely into gingerbread cookies and it was such a pain in the butt to handle sticky molasses. It was fun to decorate them though. This recipe is also from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

INGREDIENTS

Cookie:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
3/4 cup light molasses
2 tablespoons whole milk
Frosting:
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Process the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, and salt in a food processor until combined, about 10 seconds. Scatter the butter pieces over the top and using short pulses, process to a very fine meal, about 15 pulses. With the machine running, slowly pour the molasses and milk through the feed tube and process until the dough forms a soft mass, about 10 seconds.
2. Scrape the dough onto a counter and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough out to a 1/8-inch thickness between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Slide the rolled dough and parchment onto a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with oven racks at the upper- and lower-middle positions. Cut shapes out of the rolled dough using cookie cutters and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 3/4 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating and switching the baking sheets halfway through baking.
4. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
5. Whisk 2 tablespoons of the milk and the cream cheese together until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and whisk until smooth, adding the remaining milk as needed until the glaze is thin enough to spread easily. Glaze and decorate the cookies when they are completely cooled.