Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and sugar together; stir in the molasses and water.

Sift together the flour, soda, and ginger. Sift again into the first mixure.

Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto well-buttered cookie sheets. Bake 11 or twelve minutes in the preheated oven. Loosen immediately from the pan, using a spatula, but wait until cookies have slightly cooled before transferring them to a cookie rack.

Store, when cold, in a tightly covered container.