Spicy Chocolate Cookies

1 . Stage

Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne.

2 . Stage

Beat the butter and sugar, add the egg: In a stand-up mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy, a couple of minutes on medium speed (start on low speed or else the sugar will fly out). Beat in the egg, vanilla, and molasses. (The mixture may look a little curdled, don't worry about it.)

3 . Stage

Make the dough, then chill: Add the dry ingredients to the wet, a third at a time, beating after each addition. When well mixed, remove the dough from the mixer, and form it into a ball. It should have the consistency of Play-Doh. If not, if it's stiff and unmanageable, work some water into it, a tablespoon at a time until easily pliable. Then wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

4 . Stage

Roll the dough: When you are ready to roll-out the dough, preheat the oven to 350°F (175° C). Break off a chunk of dough from the ball of dough (about a quarter of it) and place it between two pieces of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to an even 1/8-inch thickness.

5 . Stage

Cut with a cookie cutter: Use a cookie cutter or the rim of a small glass to cut out cookie shapes from the rolled out dough. Place on a parchment paper or silicone-lined baking sheet, allowing at least 1/2 inch between cookies on the cookie sheet. (If you are making different sizes of cookies, don't mix them on the baking sheet or the smaller ones will be done before the larger ones.)

6 . Stage

Bake: Bake at 350°F (175° C) in the middle rack for 8 to 10 minutes, less or more, depending on the size and thickness of the cookies. (I recommend doing a test batch of a few cookies to see what is the optimal time for your batch of cookies in your oven.) The cookies should bounce back when you press on their centers, and some of them should be a little dark around the edges. When cool, they should be crispy, but not burnt.

7 . Stage

Cool: Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the tray to cool completely on a rack.