Checkerboard Cookies
Have you ever seen checkerboard cookies before? They look exactly how you would expect with a charming, intricate checkerboard design! If you’re familiar with these cookies, you might have assumed that only professionals can make them. However, anyone can make them! With this recipe, I’ll walk you through each step so that you can make these eye-catching cookies that will impress everyone.
This simple cookie recipe is delicious. It is buttery and melts in your mouth. The chocolate flavor really comes through. And if you want them really crunchy, you can bake them for a couple of minutes longer. Rather than making two separate doughs, I find that it’s easier to make one dough, split it into two portions, and then add cocoa powder to one of the portions. This will give you the chocolate and vanilla doughs.
I can guarantee you will enjoy the process of making these easy checkerboard cookies. It’ll be so rewarding when you finally get to the step where the checkerboard design can be seen! I will say that these cookies do take a bit of prep time to turn out right. So, save this baking project for a day when you can take your time and have fun with it!
Recipe Overview
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Number of Servings: 3 dozen (36)
- Time to Cook: 12 – 15 minutes
Ingredients in Checkerboard Cookies
- 1 cup Unsalted butter
- ¾ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 ¼ tsp Baking powder
- 2 ⅔ cup All-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Cocoa powder
Instructions for making Checkerboard Cookies
Make the dough.
- Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, whip the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Then, add the vanilla extract and the egg. Mix to incorporate.
- Add the dry ingredients minus the cocoa powder. Mix for about a minute or until the dough forms, then remove half of the dough from the bowl. If you want to be precise, use a kitchen scale to weigh the dough and divide it equally in half.
- Next, add the cocoa powder to the portion left in the mixer and mix on low speed to combine. This will form the chocolate dough.
- Shape each dough into a block, making it as rectangular as possible. When I made it, each block was about 8 inches in length and 2 inches tall (the width was about 2 inches as well). Wrap each block with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes or overnight.
Assemble the cookies.
1.Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the blocks from the freezer and cut each one of them into thirds.
2. Make 2 “sandwiches” by alternating the light and dark doughs. Create 2 new blocks, one with vanilla ends and chocolate in the middle, and vice versa. Now, Cut each one of these blocks into thirds again.
3. Again, make “sandwiches” with alternating colors to create the checkerboard design. You will be able to see the design on the ends.
4. Adjust the edges and square off the sides, then wrap the blocks and return them to the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. They should be thoroughly chilled before being placed in the oven.
5. Cut each block into approximately 18-20 cookies, depending on your desired thickness.
Bake the cookies.
1.Transfer the cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets and bake them for 12 to 15 minutes. The bottoms of the cookies should be golden brown.
2. Allow them to slightly cool on the pan before transferring them to a wire rack.
Variations and Substitutions
- Flour: You can try this recipe with cake flour, but keep in mind that it will slightly affect the texture of the cookies.
- Baking Extract: Instead of using vanilla extract, you can use almond extract or another flavor to give the cookies a unique taste!
- Colored Checkerboard Cookies: Optionally, dye the vanilla dough to make colorful checkerboard cookies! For instance, you can make the vanilla dough light pink, blue, or green.
- Checkerboard Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing: I enjoy how simple these cookies are, but if you want to dress them up, you can make a cream cheese icing to go on top of them. The tangy cream cheese will taste delicious with the bitter-sweet chocolate and vanilla flavors in this recipe.
Tips and Tricks for Making Perfect Checkerboard Cookies
- Square off the dough before and after baking: For a more pristine look, I suggest squaring off the checkerboard cookies. You can first square off the dough when you assemble the dough logs. Then, when they are still hot out of the oven, you can use a knife on the sides if the cookies become misshapen during baking at all. As long as you freeze the dough beforehand, it should hold its shape pretty well.
- Don’t rush the freezing process: As mentioned above, the suggested freezing time is crucial. If you try to work with overly soft dough, the cookies won’t turn out right. Either the checkerboard design will be incredibly off, or they will spread too much when they bake. For best results, follow the directions in regards to keeping the dough cold.
- Don’t overwork the dough: Once the dough comes together, you can mix it on medium-low speed for a minute or so, but it doesn’t need any more work than that. You don’t want to accidentally overwork the gluten!
- Use a sharp knife: During this entire process, you will want to use a very sharp knife. In fact, you can even use a cheese knife, which can help cut through the block of dough as it would cut through a block of cheese.
Related Recipes
Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies
Checkerboard Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted butter
- ¾ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ tsp Baking powder
- 2 ⅔ cup All-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Cocoa powder
Instructions
Make the dough.
- Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, whip the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Then, add the vanilla extract and the egg. Mix to incorporate.
- Add the dry ingredients minus the cocoa powder. Mix for about a minute or until the dough forms, then remove half of the dough from the bowl. If you want to be precise, use a kitchen scale to weigh the dough and divide it equally in half.
- Next, add the cocoa powder to the portion left in the mixer and mix on low speed to combine. This will form the chocolate dough.
- Shape each dough type into a block, making it as rectangular as possible. When I made it, each block was about 8 inches in length and 2 inches tall (the width was about 2 inches as well).
- Wrap each block with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes or overnight.
Assemble the cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the blocks from the freezer and cut each one of them into thirds. Make 2 “sandwiches” by alternating the light and dark dough. (one will have vanilla end pieces with a chocolate middle, and vice versa).
- To create the new slabs, cut each one of these blocks into thirds again. Again, make “sandwiches” with alternating colors to create the checkerboard design. You will be able to see the design on the ends.
- Wrap the blocks and return them to the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. They should be thoroughly chilled before being placed in the oven.
- Cut each block into approximately 18-20 cookies, depending on your desired thickness.
Bake the cookies.
- Transfer the cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets and bake them for 12 to 15 minutes. The bottoms of the cookies should be golden brown.
- Allow them to slightly cool on the pan before transferring them to a wire rack.
