Chocolate-Vanilla Bean Pinwheels from 'Classic Cookies with Modern Twists'

Reprinted with permission from Classic Cookies with Modern Twists by Ellen Jackson (Sasquatch Books).

Photograph by Charity Burggraaf

Chocolate–Vanilla Bean Pinwheels
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Here’s a cookie that looks like it took hours, but isn’t a big deal. When you have two different kinds of dough, you can be creative: slice stacked strips for striped cookies, stagger the stacks for checkerboards, or make a free-form swirl.

You can make one big batch of dough, divide it in half and adjust the flavorings. However, I like to make each flavor separately. Adjust this chocolate and vanilla bean pinwheel recipe to come up with your own favorite combinations.

For the Vanilla Bean Dough:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1?4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1?2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1?2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1?2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Dough:
1 1?2 cups all-purpose flour
1?4 teaspoon baking powder
1?4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1?4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1?2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1?2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the vanilla bean dough, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. To make the chocolate dough, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set both bowls aside.

Continue making the vanilla bean dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, add the egg and vanilla, and continue mixing until well incorporated, about 20 seconds. Add the dry ingredients on low speed, mixing just until incorporated. Remove the dough from the bowl onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form it into a rectangle, wrap tightly, and refrigerate.

To make the chocolate dough, use the same mixing bowl (there is no need to wash it between batches). Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, add the egg and vanilla, and continue mixing until well incorporated, about 20 seconds. Add the dry ingredients on low speed, mixing just until incorporated. Remove the dough from the bowl onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form it into a rectangle, wrap tightly, and refrigerate. After both kinds of dough have chilled for at least 30 minutes, remove them from the refrigerator.

Divide both rectangles of dough into 2 even squares. Between pieces of parchment paper, roll each piece of chocolate dough into a 10-inch square and roll each piece of vanilla dough into a 10-by-11-inch square. Remove the top sheets of parchment and place a chocolate square on a vanilla square, leaving a 1?2-inch border at the top and bottom. Place one of the parchment sheets on top of the stack, and use the palm of your hand or the back of a baking sheet to press down lightly, joining the doughs. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and use the piece on the bottom to roll the dough into a tight log. Repeat with the second squares of dough to make a total of 2 logs.

Wrap the logs in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours and up to 2 days. (If well wrapped, a log of dough will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months).

Preheat the oven 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (you can reuse the pieces you used to roll the dough out if they’re in good shape). Remove the logs from the refrigerator and unwrap. Using a sharp thin knife, slice 1?4-inch-thick cookies and place them on the baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, or until golden brown around the edges of the vanilla dough. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

With a Twist
Chocolate-Orange Pinwheels: Substitute 4 teaspoons finely chopped orange zest for the vanilla bean seeds in the vanilla bean dough.

Brown Sugar–Cinnamon Pinwheels: Replace the granulated sugar with 1?2 cup brown sugar in the vanilla bean dough recipe, and omit the vanilla bean. Replace the cocoa powder with 1?4 cup all-purpose flour in the chocolate dough recipe, and add 1 1?2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients.

Get your bake on with more chocolate cookies:

Bouchon Bakery’s Oreo Cookie Recipe

Basic, Great Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Salted Caramel Chocolate Peanut Oat Cookies Recipe