They are a popular dried flower. They just need to be hung upside-down in a warm, dry, dark area. Because they are very fleshy, they need to dry quickly so they don't lose color-the warmer the area the better.

I am also a new cockscomb grower. If I cut the plant is that it for the season or will it grow again? How much of the stem do I cut?

Cut as much stem as you need..esp. to hang it up to dry. That is about it for the year, but save all of those seeds that will drop out when you dry them..they will give you plenty of seeds to work with for next year. If you let them dry on the plant,that meaning frost killing the plant, you will also have hundreds of plants for next year..much more than you will ever think about needing. For color, cutting them to dry is better.
I dried some last year and tucked them into my Christmas tree with Spanish moss wrapped around the stems..very pretty!

When do I know its time to dry them?