Recipe Of The Day: Checkerboard Cookies
There are plenty of vintage recipes that no one makes anymore, but how checkerboard cookies made that list is beyond us. Not only are these little cookies visually impressive, thery're perfect for holidays, parties and National Sugar Cookie Day, which just so happens to be today.
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If you don't have time to turn on the oven, this dough can be refrigerated and saved for later. Just separate the dough into logs and bake them one at a time.
Checkerboard cookies are made using common pantry ingredients like flour, baking soda, salt, sugar and more. But, if you don't have some of the required ingredients, there are plenty of baking substitutions you can use.
After mixing up the dough, make sure you left it refrigerate for at least one hour. Then roll out the cocoa and almond dough into rectangles and use a sharp knife to cut each rectange crosswise into strips. Place a strip of each color dough side by side and top with two more strips, alternating colors to create a checkerboard pattern.
After setting the dough into the correct pattern and baking for about 10 minutes, you'll have perfect checkerboard cookies. Pair them with milk or more of our vintage recipes that shouldn't be forgotten.
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons McCormick All Natural Pure Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon McCormick Pure Almond Extract
Directions
Mix flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat sugars and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; mix well. Gradually stir in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Divide dough in half. Add vanilla and cocoa powder to one half; mix well. Add almond extract to second half; mix well. Press each piece of dough into a 4-inch square. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.
Roll out cocoa dough into 6-by-5-inch rectangle. Repeat with almond dough. Using a large sharp knife, cut each rectangle crosswise into 8 strips (3/4-inch wide). Place a strip of each color dough side by side. Top with 2 more strips, alternating colors to create a checkerboard pattern. Lightly press the dough strips together. Repeat with the remaining strips to form 3 more checkerboard dough rectangles. Wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice each rectangle into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
Recipe courtesy of McCormick.