Chocolate Pinwheels

This dough is made with a vanilla base, and a smaller amount of chocolate prepared separately. The vanilla dough is separated into two sections, one of which is left plain and the other has the chocolate mix added to it. This forms the two parts of the swirl which can then be rolled together.

Start by preparing the chocolate mix. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons milk for a few seconds in the microwave. Add the 6 tablespoons cocoa and mix well until it forms a sticky dough-like mixture. Set aside.

To make the main vanilla dough, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, then 2 tablespoons milk beating until well mixed.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour and the baking powder. At low speed, gradually add the sifted dry ingredients and mix well. If you are using a stand mixer, increase speed to medium and beat until the dough leaves the side of the bowl. If you are using a hand mixer it is best to switch to using a wooden spoon or lightly mixing with clean hands.

Divide dough. Remove about 1/2 of the dough and set aside. That portion will be the vanilla dough. To the dough remaining in the mixing bowl, add the chocolate mixture and beat until fully incorporated, or use your hands to gently knead it in. This forms the chocolate dough.

Form the vanilla dough and cocoa dough into balls and slice each ball into two equal halves. On a sheet of waxed paper, roll vanilla dough into a rectangle around 7” in width and 8” in length. Repeat with the cocoa dough. The dough is soft and malleable, it is easy to fold over excess edges to keep the rectangle properly sized. Flip rolled cocoa dough onto vanilla dough and peel off waxed paper. Lightly press the surface with a rolling pin to adhere both the vanilla and chocolate dough.

With the wide end facing you, roll the dough tightly into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator. Repeat procedure with other half of vanilla and cocoa dough to make the second cookie log. If desired roll the logs slightly to make them longer for more cookies.

After about 30 minutes take the logs out of the refrigerator and roll on the counter to retain the circular shape and prevent one side from flattening. Wrap tightly again in plastic wrap, wax paper and freeze for about an hour or store in freezer and bake as needed.

When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 325 F. Thaw cookie log just slightly and slice to about ¼ thickness with a sharp knife. Place cookie slices on a cookie sheet about one cookie width apart to allow for expansion and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove cookies from pan to cool immediately to prevent excess crumbling.