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Pinwheels: Spiral Shortbread Cookies

Source of Recipe

Adapted from "Dessert Circus," by Jacques Torres


Recipe Introduction

"These cookies are very pretty and light, perfect for tea parties. They also look more complex than they are; you simply make two sets of dough (one plain, the other chocolate) and roll them into a cylinder, then slice them and bake."

List of Ingredients

For the plain dough:
1/2 vanilla bean
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
4 large egg yolks
Zest of 1/2 orange, grated
Pinch baking powder
Pinch salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

For the chocolate dough:
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1/2 vanilla bean
1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
4 large egg yolks
Zest of 1/2 orange, grated
Pinch baking powder
Pinch salt
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder.




Recipe

To make the plain dough:
1. Using a sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Separate the seeds from the skin by scraping the blade of the knife along the inside of the bean.

2. Place the butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla bean seeds and orange zest in a medium sized mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute.

3. Combine the baking powder, salt and flour and add to the butter mixture all at once. Beat on low speed just until combined, about 1 minute. (Do not overmix the dough, or it will become tough.)

4. Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a 4-inch by 9-inch rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour. (The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated overnight.)

To make the chocolate dough:
5. Using a sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Separate the seeds from the skin by scraping the blade of the knife along the inside of the bean.

6. Place the butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla bean seeds and orange zest in a medium sized mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute.

7. Combine the baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and flour and add to the butter mixture all at once. Beat on low speed just until combined, about 1 minute. (Do not overmix the dough, or it will become tough.)

8. Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a 4-inch by 9-inch rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for one hour. (The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated overnight.)

To make the spiral pattern:
9. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.

10. Remove the doughs from the refrigerator. (They will be hard; to make them easier to roll, give them a few quick raps with a rolling pin.)

11. Lightly flour each side of each piece of dough and roll each piece into a 7-inch by 16-inch rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.

12. Brush what will be your bottom layer of dough with a thin coat of water. Place one dough on top of the other and roll out another inch or so.

13. Brush the top dough with another thin coat of water to help the dough stick to itself.

14. Starting at the long side, roll the two dough into a cylinder 1 1/2- to 1 3/4-inch in diameter. Put in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes or so until hard.

15. Cut the cylinder into 1/2-inch thick slices and lay the cookies cut side down on a parchment paper covered baking sheet, about 1/2-inch apart.

16. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes and cool on a wire rack. The cookies will store for 5 days in an airtight container.

Yield: About 40 spiral cookies.