Pinwheel Cookies

By norsegal8

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
• 2 Tbsp. boiling water
• 3 Tbsp. Dutch-processed cocoa
• 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and still warm
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preparation

Step 1

MIX THE DOUGH: Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar in a steady stream and mix together for another 2 minutes.. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients in two additions, mixing until just combined. Remove 2 cups less 2 tablespoons of the dough and set aside.
Dissolve the espresso powder in the boiling water and set aside briefly to cool. Then mix the espresso and cocoa powder into the remaining dough in the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the melted chocolate and mix until thoroughly combined.
PORTION EACH FLAVOR of the dough into 3 equal pieces (for accuracy, use a scale). Shape each piece into a 5x5 square on a piece of plastic wrap and wrap well. The chocolate will be thicker. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes
WHILE THE DOUGH is chilling, teat off 12 12-inch squares of waxed paper. To shape the cookies, remove one square of vanilla dough and one square of chocolate dough. Roll each into a 7x7-inch square between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Pull one piece of waxed paper off of each, put the dough sides together. Gently roll over with a rolling pin to seal the layers together.
STARTING WITH the edge of the dough closest to you, carefully curl the edge of the dough up and over with your fingertips so that no space is visible in the center of the pinwheel.
USING THE WAXED paper as an aid, continue rolling the dough into a tight cylinder. Roll the log back and forth on the counter to slightly elongate and compact it and transfer it to a sheet of plastic wrap. Roll tightly, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap to seal. With your hands on either end of the log, push firmly toward the center to compact the dough. It should be about 9 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick . Repeat with the remaining dough. Refigerate until firm enough to slice, about 3 hours.
BAKE THE COOKIES: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Working with one log at a time, use a sharp, thin-bladed knife to slice the dough into 1/4-inch rounds. Set the rounds about 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake until the tops of the cookies feel set, about 12 to 14 minutes (don't let the edges get brown). Rotate the sheets halfway through baking. Let the cookies stand for 1 minute on the baking sheets.