Vanilla And Chocolate Shortbread Swirls Food

CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA SWIRL COOKIES

Steps:

• To make the vanilla layer, whisk the flour and salt together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg yolks and vanilla until combined, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a clean counter and divide it in half. Roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch log about 2 inches thick. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• To make the chocolate layer, whisk the flour, cocoa powder and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Let cool completely. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg yolks, cooled chocolate and vanilla until combined, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a clean counter and divide it in half. Roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch log about 2 inches thick. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• To make the cookies, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll one vanilla dough log into a 12-inch square. Repeat with one chocolate dough log. Flip the chocolate dough on top of the vanilla dough so that the chocolate dough is layered on top of the vanilla dough. Gently roll over the top with a rolling pin to make the doughs stick to one another. Roll up the dough into one big log, pressing gently as you roll to adhere the dough. Carefully slice the log into 1/4-inch-thick cookies. Repeat with the remaining two dough logs. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Let cool and enjoy!

VANILLA-AND-CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD SWIRLS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop mixer and add flour mixture; mix on low speed until just combined. Remove half the dough; divide into two equal pieces, wrap in plastic, and set aside while you make the chocolate dough.
• In a small bowl, stir together cocoa, espresso, and 2 tablespoons hot water. Add cocoa mixture to remaining cookie dough and mix on low speed until color is uniform, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
• Place half the chocolate dough on a sheet of parchment and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Roll dough into a 14-by-10-inch rectangle (dough will be very thin but can be easily patched if it tears). Set aside, still covered with plastic. Repeat rolling process with remaining chocolate dough and both pieces of vanilla dough.
• Place one sheet of chocolate dough on work surface and remove plastic. Remove plastic from one sheet of vanilla dough and invert, still attached to its parchment backing, onto chocolate dough, pressing gently with the palm of your hand to adhere. Gently peel back parchment paper to remove. Continue layering with remaining chocolate and vanilla doughs. Position dough with one short side parallel to edge of work surface, then roll dough into a tight spiral. Wrap log in parchment and place in a cardboard paper-towel tube that has been cut open from end to end (this will help retain the round shape of the log of dough). Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Trim ends from dough. Slice dough 1/4 inch thick. Roll each cookie between sheets of parchment into an oblong disk about 3 inches long and 1/8 inch thick; transfer to prepared sheets. Bake until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cool completely. Working with one cookie at a time, dip an edge in melted chocolate and coat with pistachios. Transfer to fresh parchment-lined baking sheets and let stand until chocolate is set, 45 to 60 minutes.

SHORTBREAD SWIRLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter with vanilla seeds and confectioners' sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add yolk and beat until incorporated, 1 minute more. Gradually add flour mixture and beat on low until just combined. Tint with food color as desired.
• Transfer dough to pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip (such as Ateco #825). Pipe into S shapes, each about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide, spaced 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Bake until edges are light golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer cookies on sheets to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

VANILLA AND CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD PINWHEELS

Steps:

• For the vanilla shortbread, put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp cold water. Beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Tip out onto a work surface, shape into a rough rectangle, then wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hour.
• Repeat this process for the chocolate shortbread, adding 1-2 tbsp extra cold water to give the mixture the same consistency as the vanilla dough. Shape into a rough rectangle, wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hour.
• Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Unwrap both types of dough, leaving them on the cling film, then lightly dust with flour. Roll each out to a rough 30cm x 20cm rectangle. Brush the top of the vanilla shortbread with a little milk and carefully but quickly flip the chocolate dough on top. Leave the cling film on and lightly roll over with a rolling pin to press the two doughs together.
• Remove the top layer of cling film and, using a sharp knife, trim the edges to make one large, even piece of dough.
• Using the bottom piece of cling film to help you, roll up the dough into a tight spiral and smooth with your hands to secure. Chill for 30 minutes (see Make Ahead).
• Remove the cling film and brush the outside of the rolled dough with a little more milk. Scatter the work surface with the barista sugar, then roll the dough over the crystals to fully coat it. Slice the dough into 22-25 x 1cm-thick circles. Lay each on its side on the baking sheets, spacing them out, then bake for 15-18 minutes until lightly golden. Transfer the pinwheels to a wire rack to cool completely.

SWIRL SHORTBREAD COOKIE SANDWICHES WITH RASPBERRY FILLING

Steps:

• For the raspberry filling: Combine the raspberries, granulated sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, crushing the fruit and stirring occasionally. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisk in the cornstarch and lower to a simmer. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the cream filling: Add the white chocolate to a bowl fitted over a pot of simmering water to make a double boiler. Heat until the chocolate is fully melted, then remove the bowl and allow to cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Once cool, whisk in the mascarpone and confectioners' sugar and continue to whisk until all lumps of sugar are dissolved and the mixture is smooth and velvety.
• For the cookie dough: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla to the bowl and continue to beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until well incorporated, 60 to 90 seconds.
• Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. On low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat to combine. Add the milk and mix just a bit more until everything is incorporated. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and pipe 1 1/2-inch circles of dough, about 12 on each sheet. Chill in the refrigerator for about 8 minutes.
• Bake until light golden brown on the sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheets.
• Once all cookies have been baked and cooled, spoon the raspberry filling onto the bottom of half of the cookies. Scoop the cream filling into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip and pipe it on top of the raspberry filling. Use the remaining cookies as tops to create sandwich cookie.

CHECKERBOARD & SWIRL SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, or bowl from a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. (about one minute)
• Add vanilla and beat just until combined.
• Gradually add flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing just until combined.
• Divide the dough in half and place one-half of the dough in a small mixing bowl and add in the cocoa powder. You can use the mixer, or mix with clean hands or a wooden spoon until well-combined.
• Place the dough between two pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap and roll out into a 7x7-inch square. Start with the vanilla dough, then do the same with the chocolate dough.
• Trim the dough to exactly 7x7-inches and set aside the remaining dough to make smaller checkerboard cookies or swirl cookies.
• Cut each square into 3/4 inch wide strips as detailed in steps 8 to 10.
• Use a ruler to score the dough with a sharp knife to mark the 3/4" for each cut line.
• I used a ruler and pizza cutter to cut the strips. Cut the vanilla strips and set aside.
• Cut the chocolate strips and set aside.
• Next, lay a piece of plastic wrap on the work surface. Carefully, lift three strips, one at a time, and lay them beside each other, alternating the vanilla and chocolate.
• Press the three pieces together lightly.
• On top of that row, continue with a second, third and fourth layer using the opposite colours from one row to the next as follows:
• Row one: Chocolate, Vanilla, Chocolate Row two: Vanilla, Chocolate, Vanilla Row three: Chocolate, Vanilla, Chocolate Row four: Vanilla, Chocolate, Vanilla.
• Wrap the brick in plastic wrap and press the sides and top together gently.
• Refrigerate for one hour.
• Trim both ends of the dough with a sharp knife.
• Slice cookies 1/4-inch thick and place on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in 350°F oven, one sheet at a time for 8 to 10 minutes. The edges will be lightly browned and the top still a bit soft.
• Cool on wire racks.

CHOCOLATE VANILLA SWIRL POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Spray and flour a loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the applesauce, sugar and vanilla to the butter. Add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir the flour into the butter, on low, alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour.
• Put 2/3 of the batter in the prepared loaf pan. Add the fudge sauce and the baking soda to the remaining batter and mix until just blended. Spoon the chocolate mixture on top of the batter in the pan and swirl with a butter knife.
• Bake for approximately 1 hour or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool 10 minutes in the pan. Remove from the pan and cool completely.