Checkerboard Cookies

Ever since my butter and sugar creaming dilemma was solved, I have been obsessed with making any cut out/shaped cookie I can find. I find these cookies to be so visually appealing. You can also make a pinwheel shape out of these cookies. The dough is really versatile. You can also skip creating a chocolate dough and instead split the dough in two and add food coloring to create different designs. You can try green and red for Christmas or some more pastel colors for spring.

I personally love the vanilla and chocolate combination. The chocolate also has a dash of espresso powder.

The dough itself is easy. The assembly is also quite easy. It does require a lot of chilling time though. Form the dough, chill. Cut the dough and reform, chill. Use a lazy weekend afternoon or break the steps out across a few days to make these cookies. Either way, they’ll be a crowd pleaser.

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Checkerboard Cookies

These cookies are adorable and can be a base for a pinwheel cookie as well.

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Chill Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

Base Dough

• 3 cups (390 g) all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Dough

• 2 1/4 tsp instant espresso powder
• 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted
• 1 tbs cocoa powder

Instructions

• In a medium sized bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Switch mixer to high speed and add the egg and vanilla.
• Switch mixer to low speed and add flour mixture until just incorporated and dough just starts to form into a cohesive ball.
• Split the dough in half. One half will be your vanilla dough. With the other half, add the chocolate and cocoa powder until just combined.
• Form each dough into a rectangular log: 2″ x 2″ x 6″.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least one hour.
• Cut each block into 9 pieces lengthwise. (Cut into thirds, then cut each piece into thirds again). Arrange in a grid pattern by alternating 3 x 3 pieces of vanilla and chocolate dough. Gently press together. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for half an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Remove logs and cut into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Refrigerate slices that are not about to be baked.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

Notes

Recipe from Fifteen Spatulas.