It’s our favorite time of year! We’re getting you some outstanding recipes for your holiday treat trays during our annual “12 Days of Cookies” series. Today, Elizabeth is baking with Steve Horton of Baker’s Field Flour and Bread. You can find his flour and bread here.

The 12 Days of Cookies is brought to you by Bridgeman’s Ice Cream. This year, we’re pairing each cookie with a Bridgeman’s ice cream flavor. Steve recommends enjoying his Minnesota Spice Cookies with classic Vanilla Ice Cream.

For a list of Bridgeman’s retail locations and scoop shops, click here.

Here’s today’s recipe!

Minnesota Spice
50 cookies

Cake/Pastry Flour 423 grams
Baking Powder   12 grams
Sea Salt           4 grams
Ground Cinnamon   4 grams
Ground Allspice     2 grams
Finely Ground Black Pepper    4 grams
Cayenne Pepper   (1/4 teaspoon)
Cocoa Powder   160 grams
Butter         336 grams
Vanilla Extract    24 grams
Cane Sugar     448 grams
Eggs  100 grams

Mix and sift together flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, allspice, black pepper, cayenne pepper and cocoa powder, set aside

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Slowly add eggs, scraping as you go.

Add half of the dry ingredients, scraping often.  Add other half until combined.  Finish mixing by hand.

Split dough into two. Wrap and refrigerate until firm but not hard.

Take out dough and roll out to desired thickness.  Cut with preferred cookie cutter.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

A note from Steve:
Most American home bakers have never baked using a scale—by weight instead of by volume, which is what happens when using measuring spoons and cups. A cup is never a cup, since the density of ingredients can vary. Depending on how you pack a one cup measure, the total amount of flour can vary by as much as 3 ounces. Somewhere in the back of your cabinets, you likely have a food scale. Give baking this way a try, and you will achieve the most tender, flavorful cookies possible.