How to Make Checkerboard Cookies

Dec

112013

Recently, it was our wedding anniversary and I had absolutely no idea what to get for my husband.

Absolutely. No. Idea.

So, knowing cookies are his favorite food, I offered to make him a batch of whatever kind he chose.

He chose these checkerboard butter cookies, a combination of my basic Butter Cookies recipe, plus a Mexican Chocolate variation. The recipe has variations galore—including Almond Five-Spice, Lemon Poppyseed, and Maple Brown Sugar—but you can make the checkerboard pattern with two batches of just one flavor and some food coloring.

The cookies themselves are drop-dead easy. The checkerboard pattern takes a little time, but there’s nothing hard about it.

Here’s how to do it:

The result is a snazzy-looking treat that’d be at home at even the fanciest cookie exchange.

I sliced and baked a couple dozen checkerboards for my husband, and gave him the rest as logs of dough for the freezer—so he can bake a new batch whenever the mood strikes.

He might even have enough to last until next year’s anniversary.

Not.

Butter Cookies

This basic recipe is wonderful as is, but you can vary it to make Almond Five-Spice, Lemon Poppyseed, Mexican Chocolate, and Maple Brown Sugar Butter Cookies as well. See below for details.

See this post for how to make the checkerboard pattern.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Decorations such as colored sugar, jimmies, silver balls, and icing (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, beating until smooth. With the mixer on low , add the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.

On a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a 3/4-inch thick round. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and as long as overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into various shapes. Gather up the scraps and roll out the dough again. Use cookie cutters to make another set of cookies. Discard the scraps. If you like, decorate the cookies with colored sugar, jimmies, silver balls, etc. (Or don’t roll the dough out and, instead, make checkerboard cookies following the instructions here.)

Place the cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets, about 1/2-inch apart and bake 11 to 13 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden at the edges. Place sheets on cooling rack and cool thoroughly before decorating with icing , if you like.

ALMOND FIVE SPICE BUTTER COOKIES
Follow recipe above, adding 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder and 1/2 cup sliced almonds to the dry ingredients, and substituting almond extract for vanilla.

LEMON POPPYSEED BUTTER COOKIES
Follow recipe above, adding 2 tablespoons poppyseeds to the dry ingredients, and substituting 2 tablespoons lemon juice plus 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest for the vanilla extract.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE BUTTER COOKIES
Follow recipe above, adding 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder to the dry ingredients.

MAPLE BROWN SUGAR BUTTER COOKIES

Follow recipe above, reducing butter to 7/8 cup (1 3/4 sticks), and substituting packed light brown sugar for sugar and maple flavoring for the vanilla extract.

By Jill Silverman Hough