Holiday desserts & cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Crumple and shape foil into 1-1 1/2" cylinders.

In a 4-qt. saucepan, combine molasses, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, ginger and salt. Heat to a boil on medium, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Stir in baking soda, then butter. Stir in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour until combined.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Gently knead until smooth. Divide into 3 equal-sized pieces. Shape each into a flat disk and wrap 2 in plastic wrap.

Roll unwrapped piece of dough to 1/8" thickness. With gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place on prepared sheets, spacing 1" apart. Reroll scraps once and cut out additional cookies. Repeat rolling and cutting with remaining 2 pieces of dough.

Gently fold arms of gingerbread men up, placing a foil cylinder under each pair of arms to keep them in place while baking, pressing slightly, if necessary. Bake 10 minutes, until set and dry to the touch. Remove from oven and carefully remove pieces of foil. Cool cookies completely on wire racks.

Decorate with icing. Let stand until icing sets. Slide candy canes or candies into arms. To store, keep between sheets of parchment paper in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Tip: You can use this dough with other cookie-cutter shapes like stars, trees, hearts, candy canes or snowflakes.

Source: Hannaford fresh Magazine, December 2023