3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 tbs unsalted butter OR margarine, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup water
5-6 oz hard red and white peppermint candies

in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. set aside.

in a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter until light, about 1-2 minutes. beat in the sugar and molasses. blend in the water. add the dry ingredients and mix well.

shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. refrigerate for 45 minutes, or until firm but pliable.

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line cookie sheets with aluminum foil. gently trace heart designs onto the foil, making the hearts about 5″ long.

divide the dough into thirds, then divide each portion into 10 pieces. roll each piece of dough into a rope between 1/4″ and 1/2″ thick and outline the heart shapes with the ropes of dough; pinch the ends together tightly to seal.

coarsely crush the candies between two sheets of waxed paper or in a sealed heavy-duty plastic bag, using a rolling pin, or crush them in a food processor. fill the insides of the hearts with crushed candy.

bake in the center of the oven for 4-5 minutes, or until the cookie dough is set and the candy melts. cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the cookie sheets, then carefully peel the cookies from the foil and remove to wire racks to cool completely.

makes 30 cookies