Gingerbread Snowflakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
• 0.5 teaspoons fine salt
• 0.25 teaspoons ground cloves
• 0.13 teaspoons ground black pepper , Optional
• 0.13 teaspoons cayenne pepper , Optional
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
• 0.67 cups white sugar
• 0.25 cups molasses
• 0.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg

Instructions

1. 1

   Gather all the ingredients.

2. 2

   Whisk 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, cocoa powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cloves, black pepper, and cayenne together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed.

3. 3

   Cream together butter and sugar in a separate bowl with an electric mixer until pale yellow and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add molasses, vanilla, and egg. Whisk mixture until well blended. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir just until the flour disappears.

4. 4

   Spread out a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and set dough on top. Wrap dough with plastic wrap while shaping it into a rectangle approximately 1-inch high by 4 to 5 inches wide. Refrigerate until dough is cold and firm, about 1 hour.

5. 5

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat.

6. 6

   After the dough has chilled, slice across the block into 14 or 15 pieces about 3/8 inch thick. Each slice is then cut in half, and each half into 3 strips lengthwise.

7. 7

   Use 3 strips of the dough to form the 6-pointed star as shown and place onto the prepared baking sheet with space in between as they spread out.

8. 8

   Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes if you like the cookies to be chewy, or 15 minutes for crispy cookies. Remove from the oven and wait for 5 minutes before carefully transferring cookies to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

9. 9

   Mix together the powdered sugar and water until a ribbon is formed. Transfer the icing into a piping bag with a small round tip. Pipe snowflake designs onto the cooled cookies.

10. 10

    Serve and enjoy!