Applique Cookies

More craft than recipe, applique cookies borrow the idea from fabric applique: a smaller shape layered onto a larger one in a contrasting color so the design pops. Here that contrast comes from two doughs, a dark chocolate-pepper and a pale sugar cookie, cut into different sizes and shapes.

The clever, low-tech trick is the glue. A quick brush of beaten egg white on the underside of the top cookie bonds it to the base as they bake, fusing the two into one sturdy two-tone cookie instead of two loose pieces.

Keep the oven gentle and the bake short. The whole point is to set the cookies without browning, so the crisp light-and-dark contrast stays sharp.

Once cooled, a drizzle of melted semisweet chocolate is the finishing flourish, though they’re striking enough to stand on their own.

Pro Tips

• Roll both doughs to the same eighth-inch thickness so the layers bake evenly and bond cleanly.
• Brush on just a thin film of egg white. Too much oozes out and the top cookie slides off-center.
• Watch closely and pull them pale. Any browning muddies the color contrast that defines these.
• Chill the cut shapes briefly before baking so they hold their edges and don’t spread.

Variations

• Mix and match any two contrasting doughs: gingerbread and sugar, vanilla and matcha, plain and cocoa.
• Use graduated cutters in stars, hearts, or circles for a tidy nested look.
• Press a few sprinkles or sanding sugar into the egg-white glue for extra sparkle.