Tested Checkerboard Cookie Recipe Uses Egg Yolk Sable Dough

This article was prepared from the source material provided, which is a first-person recipe account. No independent testing or verification was performed.

A baker who long resisted making checkerboard cookies has published a tested recipe after trying several doughs and settling on an egg yolk-enriched sable. The account, written in first person, describes initial skepticism that the cookies would be high-effort and low-flavor, with the dark portions chocolate in color only.

Early tests with a sugar cookie produced a pattern that was not as clear as desired, while a classic shortbread with powdered sugar looked attractive but had what the author calls a blah texture. The final formula uses an egg yolk-enriched sable, which the author says delivers great flavor and a gentle snap. A portion of the egg white is reserved to roll the cookies in colored sanding sugar. A solid percentage of cocoa in the chocolate half ensures a rich flavor.

The method follows the author's Unfussy Sugar Cookies approach: starting with cold butter and rolling out the dough immediately without a floured counter. Brief trips to the freezer firm up the dough before stacking and slicing. The same doughs can be used for spirals and marbled cookies, with directions for all three included.

Ingredients and Key Steps

The recipe lists 1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour, divided; 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) fine sea or table salt; 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar; 1/3 cup (40 grams) powdered sugar; 1 cup (8 ounces or 225 grams) unsalted butter; 1 teaspoon (5 grams) vanilla extract; 1 large egg, separated; 1/4 cup (20 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder; and colored sanding sugar to finish. Dough is made in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer by beating butter, sugars, and salt until creamy, then adding egg yolk and vanilla, followed by 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) of the flour. The dough is divided in half, with the remaining 1/4 cup (35 grams) flour added to one half for the vanilla dough and cocoa powder added to the other for the chocolate dough.

For checkerboard cookies, the doughs are layered and chilled, then stacked and sliced. The author notes that normal people choose one color of sanding sugar per log, but the author cut each log into quarters and used a different color for each quarter. Slices are baked at 350°F (176°C) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown underneath, then rested on the tray for 5 minutes before cooling on a rack. Baked, cooled cookies keep for 3 weeks in a tin at room temperature. Total time is 1 hour 15 minutes, yielding 30 to 36 cookies.

Spiral and marbled variations use the same doughs. For spirals, the chocolate and vanilla slabs are rolled to 1/8-inch thick, stacked, chilled briefly, then rolled into tight spirals with vanilla dough on the outside. For marbled cookies, the stacked slabs are cut, squeezed into a rough log, folded, kneaded once or twice, and re-formed into a log. Both variations are chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes before finishing as above.