BLACK PEPPER COOKIES

BLACK PEPPER COOKIES image

Number Of Ingredients 12

Generous 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at RT
2 1/2 cups sugar
Generous 3/4 cup heavy cream
Generous 3/4 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons baking powder
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
About 8 cups all-purpose flour
Royal icing

Steps:

1. Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer or with a handheld electric mixer. Stir in the cream followed by the rest of the ingredients except the flour. Add the flour and stir just until the dough is no longer sticky, no longer. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, then shape it into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator until the next day. 2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (176°C). 3. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to a very thin sheet (1/8-inch thick is fine) and cut it into shapes. If any cookies are destined for hanging on the tree, pierce holes in the top of the cookies using the tip of a wooden skewer. Arrange the cookies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Reroll the dough until the last scrap is used. Bake in the oven until golden at the edges, about 12 minutes; a little less if chewy cookies are desired, a little more if crisp cookies are preferred. 4. Decorate with royal icing. The traditional way is to frame the cookie, make buttons, shoes, and so on, and to write the family's names on heart-shaped cookies and hang them in the windows on red ribbons. Store the cookies in airtight tins for up to several weeks (yes, you read correctly, weeks!).