Checkerboard Cookies

Strips of chocolate and vanilla cookie doughs are arranged alternately and cut into slices to form a checked design

Have you ever wondered how these checkerboard cookies are made? I've always wondered and finally found out when I made them myself. Surprisingly, it is not that difficult and they make a wonderful gift from the kitchen.

This recipe is adapted from Y3K cookbook New Year Cookies series but I've altered the recipe to be easier to make. The original recipe includes an orange flavored dough which I've omitted. Since it is my first time doing checkerboard cookies, it is safer to stick to easy recipes. 


Ingredients:-
250g butter
140g icing sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

50g almond powder
50g cornflour
400g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

10g cocoa powder
1tsp chocolate essence

Method:-
Combine butter and sugar in a mixer and beat well. Add in eggs and vanilla extract and continue beating until smooth. In a separate mixing bowl, sift almond powder, cornflour, plain flour and baking powder. Fold in sifted flour mixture into the egg batter and form a dough.

Divide the dough into two equal portions. Mix the cocoa powder and chocolate essence in one portion to form the chocolate part of the cookie.  Roll out the dough and create strips about 30 cm long.
Chill the dough in the fridge for an hour if it becomes too soft to handle.

Stack the strips of dough in rows of three alternating between the vanilla flavoured and chocolate flavoured dough. The dough is now in a form of a log. Slice the log to about 0.5cm thickness. Place the slices on a lined baking tray. If need be chill the dough when it gets too soft to handle. Do not slice the log immediately when it comes out of the fridge. Let the dough soften first.

Bake in preheated oven at 170°c for 15 to 20 minutes.

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These are not your ordinary crunchy and crisps cookies. I find that the texture of these cookies are light and soft. If you've had the chocolate and vanilla panda biscuits before, these checkerboard cookies taste like those panda biscuits.


I'd like to bake these again, but maybe replacing half of the icing sugar with caster sugar to bring some crunchiness to the cookies. 


Happy baking! xx