Gingerbread (For Cookies or a Gingerbread House)

In a medium saucepan, heat sugar, molasses, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves to boiling, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat; stir in soda (it will foam up).
Stir in margarine till melted.
With a fork, stir in egg, then flour.
On a floured surface, knead dough till mixed. Divide dough in half, wrap half with plastic wrap; set aside.
Roll half the dough, with a rolling pin, slightly thinner than 1/4 inch.
Cut with cutters.
Bake at 325F on a cookie sheet for 12 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
Makes about 3 dozen 3" gingerbread people.
NOTE: We make houses by cutting out our house design (the 2 sides of the roof, two sides, a front and a back of the house) on graph paper, and then placing the graph paper shapes on the dough and cutting the dough shapes out with a knife.