Recipe: Checkerboard Shortbread Cookies (Grand Central Station's)

CHECKERBOARD SHORTBREAD COOKIES
Source: Grand Central Baking Company

Because these cookies look fancy and freeze well, they're a wonderful choice for holiday parties or gifts. This recipe is large, yielding seven to eight dozen one-ounce cookies. You can also freeze the dough, or better yet, the sliced, unbaked cookies; just bake a few at a time as you need them. Allow at least four hours for dough to chill before forming into checkerboards.

FOR THE VANILLA SHORTBREAD:
2 cups unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
FOR THE CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD:
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt

TO MIX THE SHORTBREAD:
Use the same mixing technique for both the vanilla and chocolate shortbread. First, cream the room temperature butter and sugar on medium speed in an electric mixer for six to 10 minutes. The mixture should be fluffy and light colored. Scrape the side of the bowl and add vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl (no sifting is necessary). In two to three additions, add flour mixture to creamed butter and sugar on low speed; scrape the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix one more minute until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Split the dough in half, and with a rolling pin, roll each chunk into a strip approximately four inches wide and one inch thick. You will have two strips of each type of shortbread; wrap each in plastic and chill for three to four hours. Take out of refrigerator 10 minutes before forming.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

TO FORM THE CHECKERBOARD:
Step one.
Make an egg wash by beating one large egg with two teaspoons of water.

Working with one strip each of chocolate and vanilla dough, trim and roll them so that they are each one inch thick and four inches wide. Brush egg wash on one side of vanilla shortbread and stack chocolate strip directly on top.

Step two.
Seal the two layers together with light pressure from a rolling pin.

Step three.
Slice the entire stack of dough down the middle to create two, two-inch wide logs.

Step four.
Turn both logs on their sides so that you have alternating strips of chocolate and vanilla dough side by side. Brush the top of one two-toned log with egg wash; flip the other log over and place it on top of the egg-washed piece. Seal with rolling pin. You will end up with a two-inch by two-inch checkerboard with two chocolate and two vanilla squares.

Step five.
Slice checkerboard log into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick cookies. Place them on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely on a rack before storing airtight or freezing.