These spice cookies are delicious and pretty addictive. They are very firm, you might even call them "hard", but so good. They have a caramel-like flavor.
About the baking time - 12 minutes seems accurate but I would begin checking at 10 minutes and take them out as soon as they begin to turn a light, golden brown and before they turn too dark. When trying a new recipe, I always bake one sheet at a time to know if I need to adjust the time for the remaining. Once you know that, you can certainly bake several sheets at once, just flip and swap them about halfway through.
This recipe once again brings up the evil pastry cloth. Not really evil, I suppose, but I do not own one and have never used one. I found an array of alternatives online that can be used for such, ranging from paper towels to cheesecloth. I wondered about my silicon mat and asked that question online and the answer was yes you can!
One drawback I found to the silicone mat is that the dough tended to stick after rolling it out, even with a generous dusting. However, the dough is very firm and forgiving. You can easily slide it off the mat with a spatula or flat knife (which is what I used) and the dough stays firm. It reminded me of making biscuits.
Makes 36 cookies
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper, ground fine
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. powdered cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. powdered ginger
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper, ground fine
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. powdered cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. powdered ginger
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
Adjust the oven rack to high and preheat to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment.
Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
Beat the butter to soften it and then add the salt, pepper, cayenne, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. You should scrape the bowl to make sure everything gets mixed.
Beat in the egg and the sugar, mixing and scraping the bowl.
On lowest speed, add the flour mixture.
Transfer to a board or flat surface and knead lightly. Divide the dough into three pieces. Work with one piece at a time.
On a lightly floured pastry cloth (I used a silicon mat), roll out the dough to 1/8 to 1/4 thickness.
Place the cookies about 3/4" apart on the cookie sheet. Use a spatula or a flat knife if the dough is sticking to your surface. This is a firm dough and easy to work with.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. I found that 10 1/2 to 11 minutes was good. You want to remove them from the oven before they begin to turn dark which they will do in a hurry. They will also continue to bake once removed so it is best to get them transferred to a wire rack immediately.
Store in an airtight container.
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