Black and White Spiral Cookies
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 15, 2008
Time
2 hours, plus 1¼ hours chilling and 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Makes about 80 cookies
Ingredients
Vanilla Dough
1 large egg 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened¼ teaspoon table salt ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams)Chocolate Dough
1 large egg 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)¼ teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ⅓ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 ⅔ ounces/189 grams)¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa (1 ounce/28 grams)Before You Begin
Make sure the cookie dough is well chilled and firm so that it can be uniformly sliced. After the dough has been wrapped in parchment, it can be double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 2 weeks.
Instructions
- Place eggs in small saucepan, cover with 1 inch of water, and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill small bowl with ice water. Using slotted spoon, transfer eggs to ice water bath and let stand 5 minutes. Separate yolks from whites; discard whites. Press 1 yolk through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl; set aside. Repeat with remaining yolk, pressing into separate small bowl (keep yolks separate).
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, salt, and cooked egg yolk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and beater with rubber spatula as needed. Turn mixer to low, add vanilla, and mix until incorporated. Stop mixer; add flour and mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, press dough into cohesive mass. Transfer dough to large plate and set aside while preparing chocolate dough.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, salt, and cooked egg yolk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and beater with rubber spatula as needed. Turn mixer to low, add vanilla, and mix until incorporated. Stop mixer; add flour and cocoa and mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, press dough into cohesive mass.
- Halve each batch of dough. Roll out each portion on parchment paper into 6- by 8-inch rectangle, 1/4 inch thick. Briefly chill dough until firm enough to handle. Using bench scraper, place 1 plain cookie dough rectangle on top of 1 chocolate dough rectangle. Repeat to make 2 double rectangles. Roll out each double rectangle on parchment into 6- by 9-inch rectangle (if too firm, let rest until malleable). Starting at long end, roll each into tight log. Twist ends of parchment to seal and chill logs 1 hour.
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using chef’s knife, slice dough into ¼-inch-thick rounds, rotating dough so that it won’t become misshapen from weight of knife. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
- Bake until centers of cookies are pale golden brown with edges slightly darker than centers, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using thin metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Store cooled cookies between sheets of parchment paper in airtight container for up to 1 week.
for vanilla dough
for chocolate dough
to form spiral cookies
Time
2 hours, plus 1¼ hours chilling and 20 minutes coolingYield
Makes about 80 cookiesIngredients
Vanilla Dough
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¼ teaspoon table salt
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams)
Chocolate Dough
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ⅓ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 ⅔ ounces/189 grams)
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa (1 ounce/28 grams)
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Vanilla Dough
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¼ teaspoon table salt
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams)
Chocolate Dough
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ⅓ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 ⅔ ounces/189 grams)
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa (1 ounce/28 grams)
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Vanilla Dough
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¼ teaspoon table salt
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces/213 grams)
Chocolate Dough
1 large egg
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (2 ¾ ounces/78 grams)
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ⅓ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 ⅔ ounces/189 grams)
¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa (1 ounce/28 grams)
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
It took some detective work to develop a French butter cookie recipe with a properly sandy texture. Cutting back on the butter in our sable recipe helped, but the breakthrough was using a traditional French ingredient—hard-cooked egg yolk—which eliminated excess moisture and perfected the texture of the cookies.
Before You Begin
Make sure the cookie dough is well chilled and firm so that it can be uniformly sliced. After the dough has been wrapped in parchment, it can be double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 2 weeks.
Instructions
- Place eggs in small saucepan, cover with 1 inch of water, and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill small bowl with ice water. Using slotted spoon, transfer eggs to ice water bath and let stand 5 minutes. Separate yolks from whites; discard whites. Press 1 yolk through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl; set aside. Repeat with remaining yolk, pressing into separate small bowl (keep yolks separate).
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, salt, and cooked egg yolk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and beater with rubber spatula as needed. Turn mixer to low, add vanilla, and mix until incorporated. Stop mixer; add flour and mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, press dough into cohesive mass. Transfer dough to large plate and set aside while preparing chocolate dough.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, salt, and cooked egg yolk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and beater with rubber spatula as needed. Turn mixer to low, add vanilla, and mix until incorporated. Stop mixer; add flour and cocoa and mix on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, press dough into cohesive mass.
- Halve each batch of dough. Roll out each portion on parchment paper into 6- by 8-inch rectangle, 1/4 inch thick. Briefly chill dough until firm enough to handle. Using bench scraper, place 1 plain cookie dough rectangle on top of 1 chocolate dough rectangle. Repeat to make 2 double rectangles. Roll out each double rectangle on parchment into 6- by 9-inch rectangle (if too firm, let rest until malleable). Starting at long end, roll each into tight log. Twist ends of parchment to seal and chill logs 1 hour.
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using chef’s knife, slice dough into ¼-inch-thick rounds, rotating dough so that it won’t become misshapen from weight of knife. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
- Bake until centers of cookies are pale golden brown with edges slightly darker than centers, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using thin metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Store cooled cookies between sheets of parchment paper in airtight container for up to 1 week.
for vanilla dough
for chocolate dough
to form spiral cookies
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