Tender checkerboard cookies: all you need is one butter dough and a little cocoa

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Make the dough

   15 min

   Mix the flour with the powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter cut into pieces and the egg yolk, and quickly work into a smooth dough. Divide into two equal halves.

2. Make the cocoa dough

   35 min

   Work the cocoa powder and milk into one half until the color is even. Wrap both halves in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Cut into strips

   15 min

   Roll each half into a rectangle 1.5 cm thick, 6 cm wide, and about 28 cm long. Cut each rectangle into 4 strips, each 1.5 cm wide. Brush the strips with beaten egg white.

4. Assemble the checkerboard

   1 hr 15 min

   Place one light strip and one dark strip side by side. Place a second pair on top in the opposite order—dark over light and light over dark—to form a 3 × 3 cm square log with four checkerboard squares. Press together gently. Assemble a second log from the remaining strips. Wrap both in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

5. Slice

   15 min

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Use a sharp knife to cut the chilled logs into slices about 7 mm thick. Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving a little space between them.

6. Bake

   35 min

   Bake one sheet at a time for 10–12 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden. The light squares should stay pale. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet, as they break easily while warm.

Tip: You can prepare the logs a day ahead and refrigerate them for the most even slices. The cookies will keep in a cookie tin for 2–3 weeks.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Krehké dvojfarebné koláčiky ako šachovnica: stačí jedno maslové cesto a trochu kakaa