Recipe: Black and White Pinwheels (refrigerator cookies)

BLACK AND WHITE PINWHEELS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom; see cook's notes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ounce melted unsweetened chocolate

Adjust oven rack to middle position. Fifteen minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt; set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla; beat until smooth. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients.

Remove half of dough and set aside. Add melted chocolate to remaining dough and beat until chocolate is thoroughly incorporated.

Shape each of the two doughs into 6-inch squares. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate 1 hour or until fairly firm.

Roll out the plain dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to a 7-by-14-inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of paper. Roll out chocolate dough to a 7-by-14-inch rectangle and place on top of the vanilla dough, gently pressing the two doughs together. Beginning with the long side, use the paper to help lift the dough and roll it into a tight cylinder. Wrap in waxed paper and chill in refrigerator. For longer storage, place wrapped cylinders in a zipper-style freezer bag and freeze.

WHEN READY TO BAKE:
Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4-inch slices and place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake about 10 minutes or until golden. Transfer cookies to cooling rack.

Cook's notes:
Cardamom is an aromatic member of the ginger family. It has a delicate, spicy-sweet flavor that is traditional in Scandinavian cookies. Dried cardamom seedpods are either white (bleached), pale green (oven-dried) or brown (sun-dried). Inside the pod are tiny seeds. The outer pod is not generally used, but is broken away from the small seeds inside and discarded. Indian markets, specialty import stores and some supermarkets carry cardamom. If you buy the pods rather than the ground, grind the seeds with a spice grinder or mini food processor, or place in a heavy, zipper-style bag and pound with a heavy pot or mallet.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies
Adapted from source: Mary Engelbreit's Cookies Cookbook