Spiral Shortbread Cookies
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 21
- Yields:
-
40 cookies
ingredients
-
For the plain dough
- 1⁄2 vanilla bean
- 3⁄4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed plus
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 cup powdered sugar, plus
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1⁄2 orange, zest of, grated
- 1 pinch baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
-
For the chocolate dough
- 3⁄4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed plus
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1⁄2 vanilla bean
- 1 cup powdered sugar, plus
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1⁄2 orange, zest of, grated
- 1 pinch baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 2⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 cup cocoa powder
directions
- Time does not include refrigerating the doughs.
- To make the plain dough: 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.
- 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.
- 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.) 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: 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.
- 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.
- 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.) 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: Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.
- 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.) 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.
- 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.
- Brush the top dough with another thin coat of water to help the dough stick to itself.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes and cool on a wire rack.
- The cookies will store for 5 days in an airtight container.
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Reviews
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>I come from a long line of wonderful cooks and doing my best to hold up that tradition. My great-grandparents owned a coffee shop; my Nana was also a great cook and started the tradition of baking around the holidays, both cookies and fruitcakes. After she died, now a decade ago, our family decided to continue in her honor. The picture above is my mother's (Chef Hot Pans) dining room table just before we packed up our Christmas cookie trays. More that 20 kinds of cookies, many of which are from 'Zaar recipes. <br /> <br />I myself am an amateur cook with a penchant for ethnic foods and spice. Currently reforming my menu in favor of healthy dishes lower in fat with lots of grains and vegetables. My favorite cuisines are Mexican, Southwestern and North African. <br /> <br /> <br />Some of my favorite public cookbooks include:</p>
<li>ladypit's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33588> WW Core Recipes I Have Tried </a> </li>
<p> </p>
<li>shirl(j)831's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/34888> Can this really be lowfat??? </a> </li>
<p> </p>
<li>julesong's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/30566> Cooking Light Recipes </a> </li>
<p> </p>
<li>mariposa13's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/44690> WW & Lowfat Recipes </a> </li>
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