Easy Checkerboard Cookies made from a simple sugar cookie dough.Â
Ingredients
- 170 grams (3/4 cup or 1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, roughly chopped
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1Â large egg
Vanilla cookie dough
- 175 grams (1 and 1/4 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate cookie dough
- 140 grams (1 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 30 grams (1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) cocoa powder
- Zest of 1 large orange, finely grated, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1–2 teaspoons full fat or whole milk
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat using an electric mixer on low speed for 1-2 minutes. It’ll take a few minutes for your butter to soften.
- Turn mixer up to medium speed and beat just until your butter and sugar are combined and smooth. There shouldn’t be any lumps of butter.
- Add egg. Mix briefly on low speed until combined. It may look a little curdled – that’s ok.
- Split this butter mixture into two even portions. Use a baking scale to do this (recommended) or eyeball it if you don’t have a scale.
- Vanilla cookie dough
Place one half of the butter mixture back into your mixing bowl. Add flour, baking powder and salt needed for the vanilla cookie dough. - Mix on low speed until a soft, but thick cookie dough forms. It may seem dry and crumbly at first, but just keep mixing and it’ll slowly come together. Set aside.
- Chocolate cookie dough
Add remaining butter mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add flour, cocoa powder, orange zest, baking powder, salt and 1 teaspoon milk. - Mix on low speed until a soft, but thick cookie dough forms. If it’s too dry, add an extra teaspoon of milk.
- Shaping the dough
Using your hands, shape the vanilla cookie dough into a long rectangular log approximately 27cm (10.5 inches) long by 4cm (1.5 inches). Repeat with the chocolate cookie dough. - Wrap each log in plastic wrap and place both doughs in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Slice each cookie dough log in half lengthways. Then line up one vanilla cookie dough log and one chocolate cookie dough log next to each other. Press them together. Repeat with remaining two cookie dough logs.
- Place one log on top of the other, ensuring they alternate in flavour. Press gently so all the logs stick together nicely. Then wrap entire log gently in baking paper or parchment paper and pop in the fridge for another 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 15 minutes.Â
- Bake cookies
Preheat the oven to 170 C (340 F) standard / 150 C (300 F) fan-forced. Line two large baking trays or cookie sheets with baking paper or parchment paper. - Use a sharp knife to cut cookies into 1 cm (1/3-inch) thick slices. Place cookie dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving room for cookies to spread out.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes or until cookies just slightly start to colour on the edges. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Cold butter: Using cold butter allows us to cut down on the chill time. Once the dough has been made, it should be ready to roll out. However, if you prefer to start with softened or room temperature butter, you can. You may just need to chill the dough for 15-30 minutes before rolling if it’s too sticky to shape.
Vanilla bean paste: I love to use vanilla bean paste in these cookies as it has a nice, strong vanilla flavour – and I love those speckles of vanilla bean. However, vanilla extract will work fine as well.
Cocoa powder: I recommend using 100% natural cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder. Don’t use sweetened cocoa.
Cookie size:Â You can slice these cookies as thin or thick as you like. If you would like a thin and crispy cookie, slice the cookie dough into 1/8 inch thick pieces and bake cookies for 8 minutes. You can also increase the baking time if you prefer a crunchy or crispier cookie.
Make-ahead instructions:
Fridge: Wrap the cookie dough log in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. Store the cookie dough log in the fridge for up to five days.
Freezer: Alternatively, you can freeze your cookie dough. You’ll need to thaw the cookie dough slightly before slicing and baking. I recommend leaving it at room temperature for 15-30 minutes depending on your climate. Once it is soft enough to slice with a knife you are good to go. Don’t leave your cookie dough out at room temperature for too long or the cookies will spread when baked.
