Vanilla Cocoa Checkerboard Cookies
I first learned about checkerboard cookies when I bought them at Jinleyuan, where they were sold in small plastic buckets of just over 20 pieces for a steep price, but I kept going back because of their charming appearance and rich, delicious flavor. Even after I bought my own oven, I still kept purchasing them, never expecting to try making them myself. Later, after seeing Junzhi's recipe, I added checkerboard cookies to my baking plan, but it took me several months to finally get around to making them—truly not easy! But as the saying goes, good food is worth the wait, and these cookies' amazing taste makes the delay totally justified. The recipe is adapted from Junzhi's with minor adjustments, thanks! The original recipe makes 90 pieces, but I only made 60, so I need to cut down the portion size next time.
Story
My first encounter with checkerboard cookies was at Jinleyuan, where their cute patterned look and rich, layered flavor won me over even though they came in small, pricey plastic buckets. Even after I got my own oven, I still bought them regularly, until I finally decided to try making them myself after finding Junzhi's recipe. Though it took me months to get around to baking, the wait was more than worth it for these delicious treats. I made slight tweaks to the original recipe, and while the standard batch yields 90 cookies, mine only produced 60, so I'll be adjusting the portions for my next bake.
Ingredients
all-purpose flour
120g
corn starch
30g
vanilla powder
a pinch
butter
80g
white sugar
50g
whole egg
25g
all-purpose flour
110g
corn starch
20g
cocoa powder
20g
butter
80g
white sugar
50g
whole egg
25g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Vanilla powder, butter, white sugar, whole eggs, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, butter.
2
Step 2
Vanilla/cocoa dough: Soften the butter, add white sugar and mix thoroughly, no need to beat or cream it.
3
Step 3
Add the beaten egg mixture in batches.
4
Step 4
Mix the dry ingredients for the vanilla dough together, mix the dry ingredients for the cocoa dough together.
5
Step 5
Sift the mixed dry ingredients into the mixture from step 2.
6
Step 6
Knead each into a separate dough (if the dough is too sticky, you can chill it in the refrigerator for a while), then place each in a food storage bag and roll out into identical rectangles.
7
Step 7
Brush the vanilla dough with egg wash.
8
Step 8
Cover with the cocoa dough.
9
Step 9
Cut into long strips of equal size.
10
Step 10
Adhere pairs of strips with alternating colors together to form a rectangle with 4 squares.
11
Step 11
Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes until hardened.
12
Step 12
Cut into thin slices 2-3mm thick.
13
Step 13
Cut to the required size...
14
Step 14
Place in a preheated 175°C oven on the middle rack, bake for approximately 12 minutes until the bottom is golden and the surface has a slight color change.
15
Step 15
Finished product...
