Like swirled soft-serve ice cream, this cookie is a gift to the indecisive, offering the best of two worlds: chocolate and vanilla. We puzzle together logs of chocolate and vanilla dough to form an attractive checkerboard shape that’s as fun to make as it is to eat. To save ourselves the work of making two separate cookie doughs, we mixed up an easy basic vanilla dough, divided it in half, and then incorporated melted semisweet chocolate and cocoa powder into one portion. A combination of granulated and confectioners’ sugars allowed the dough to hold its striking geometric pattern during baking, and created a cookie that was tender with just enough snap. These cookies may look intricate, but we found forming was a breeze. We molded our two easy-to-handle doughs into rectangles, then stacked the two rectangles and chilled the dough. Once firm, we cut the log in half lengthwise, rotated one half, and fused the logs back together to create the checkerboard pattern before slicing into squares. These cookies don’t spread much, so we were able to space them closely together and bake them all at once.
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (5¼ ounces) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (2 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups (11¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, melted
- 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, granulated sugar, confectioners’ sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low, slowly add flour, and mix until combined. Set aside half of dough; add chocolate and cocoa to remaining dough in mixer bowl and mix on low until fully combined.
- Transfer dough to counter and form each piece into 9 by 2-inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Stack rectangles to create 2-inch-square log. Wrap log tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Slice chilled dough in half lengthwise, rotating 1 half to create checkerboard pattern, then press gently to re-adhere halves. Slice dough into ¼-inch-thick squares and space them ¾ inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake until edges are light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool completely before serving.
