Old Fashioned Checkerboard Cookies

A Striking Two-Tone Tea Cookie with Vintage Roots

Checkerboard cookies earned their place on holiday tins for one reason: they look impressive and taste like proper buttery shortbread. The dough is one shortbread base, split, with cocoa folded into half. Then it’s all about the geometry.

Rolling 12-inch quarter-inch cylinders is the part that takes a steady hand. Roll the chocolate and vanilla cylinders to identical thickness, otherwise the checkerboard pattern will look lopsided when sliced. Stack them in alternating rows, six layers total, pressing each layer firmly into the next so no gaps interrupt the pattern.

The half-hour chill is what lets you slice cleanly. Cold dough holds its shape under the knife, while soft dough smears the contrasting colors together and ruins the chess effect. Slice with a thin, sharp knife in clean strokes, never sawing back and forth.

Pro Tips

• Use unbleached flour and pure vanilla. With so few ingredients, quality matters and shows in the bake.
• Keep your hands cool while shaping the cylinders. Warm hands soften butter, which makes the dough sticky and the cylinders uneven.
• If the dough warms up while you’re stacking, pop the whole assembly back in the fridge for 10 minutes before continuing.
• Wipe the knife clean between slices for the sharpest checkerboard lines.

Variations

• Add 1 teaspoon of finely grated orange zest to the vanilla half for a subtle citrus note.
• Swap cocoa for matcha green tea powder in the dark dough for an unexpected flavor and color twist.
• Roll the finished log in coarse sanding sugar before chilling for a sparkling edge.