Stir the molasses, hot water, and rum extract together in a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).

Alternate adding part of the flour mixture, then part of the molasses mixture, and mixing between additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Make two discs of dough and wrap them in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least two hours.

When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼ inch thickness, then cut into large circles using the lid of a coffee can (or in my case, the lid from the large jar of animal crackers from Costco). Any large lid would work, really, as long as it is about 6-inches in diameter or roughly the size of your hand. Although you could make the cookies smaller if you really wanted to.

Transfer the cut-out cookies to the cookie sheets, leaving at least an inch between cookies (I can only bake 4 per pan). Bake for 8-10 minutes just until the edges begin to brown. The cookies should be soft in the middle since they will continue to harden as they cool. Cool completely on a wire rack.