Gingerbread Straws

Author and columnist Pam Anderson has a lovely afternoon ritual. She sits down with a snack. Not just any old snack, but a delicious, thoughtful snack. She shared her recipe for Gingerbread Straws from her book The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great when she was a guest on my radio show. I love them and I know you will, too.

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, mix molasses and water.

Beat butter and brown sugar with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses mixture and then dry ingredients to form stiff dough, adding another ¼ cup of flour if dough seems sticky. Quarter the dough, forming each portion into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour (Can be refrigerated up to 1 week or frozen up to 1 month.)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350ºF.  Working with 1 portion of dough at a time on a heavily floured work surface, roll into a 9- by 7-inch rectangle. Sprinkle dough with 1 tablespoon of sugar, and use the rolling pin to press sugar into dough.  Use a pastry wheel (preferably with a fluted edge) to cut dough into approximate 9- by 1/2-inch sticks. Place sticks about 1/2-inch apart on a parchment- or silpat-lined cookie sheet.

Bake until fragrant and crisp, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating each sheet from back to front and switching rack positions after 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool to room temperature. (Can be stored in a tin for 2 weeks.)