CHECKER BOARD COOKIES

These cookies are from the book "Let's Cook - Baking and Desserts by Star Fire Publications. They are so buttery and light and ohhh so addictive. 

In the original recipe egg white is used but here I have used a substitute and made them eggless, so its a treat also for vegetarians too. Also I have tried to give a much more elaborate explanation and description of the same. So here you go............my first trial at making cookies......

CHECKER BOARD COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

Salted Butter	150 gms
Pithi sakhar / Icing sugar / powdered sugar sieved	75 gms
Maida / Refined flour sieved	200 gms
Corn flour  OR Custard powder	½ tsp
Cocoa powder OR drinking chocolate	25 gms

METHOD:

1.       First make sure you measure out all the ingredients and keep them ready.

2.       Sieve separately the flour and sugar and keep that ready too.

3.       Mix the butter with a spoon just to make sure it is smooth.

4.       Beat it with an electric beater or a whisk.

5.       If you are using unsalted butter then add in a pinch of salt.

6.       Add in the powdered sugar and again stir it with the butter so that it does not come out of the container when you start beating them together.

7.       Then beat the sugar and butter well till it is smooth, fluffy and light. It will also change a little colour and turn light.

8.       Now slowly add in flour, little at a time till all is well incorporated into the butter and sugar.

9.       Transfer the contents onto a clean working counter and get it all together to form a dough ball.

10.   Cut the dough into two equal portions.

11.   Cover one portion in cling film.

12.   To the other portion add in the cocoa pdr or drinking chocolate and knead it into the dough. I prefer sieving the cocoa powder / drinking chocolate too.

13.   Cover this dough ball too in cling film and keep both the dough balls in the fridge for atleast 1 ½ - 2 hours.

14.   Remove them out and cut both the white and chocolate balls into 3 equal portions each.

15.   Add a few drops of water to the custard powder to make a paste. This is used in between the layers so that they stick to each other and seal them together.

16.   In the original recipe 1 egg white is used, you can use that too if you like but since I wanted vegetarian cookies I have used custard powder. You can use cornstarch too.

17.   Now knead each portion separately, so you have 3 white dough portions and 3 chocolate dough portions.

18.   Roll out each dough ball to resemble a rope approx ¾ -1 inch thick.

19.   Arrange besides each other 3 such dough ropes, chocolate in between and white besides it or vice versa.

20.   Apply a thin film of the custard paste, you can brush it on. Also make sure the paste gets into the joints to seal them together as they bake.

21.   Repeat the same, making ropes of the remaining 3 dough balls.

22.   Arrange these exactly over the first layer, alternating so that brown comes over white and white over brown.

23.   Seal the gaps of these with custard paste too.

24.   Cover the entire thing in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour approx. You can cut in half and divide the rolls in too portions if you find them too long.

25.   After an hour remove out of the cling film. Preheat oven for 10 min before baking at 190°C. Make sure you also keep a greased baking tray ready.

26.   Slice the roll in ½ inch pieces. Pick up the pieces carefully with a flat spoon and place them on the baking tray. Leave a little gap in between two cookies to give them space to spread a little as they bake.

27.   Bake them in the preheated oven for approx. 10 – 15 minutes.

28.   Remove the tray out immediately from the oven when done or the cookies will start to brown and discolour.

29.   Leave them on to the tray to cool completely.

30.   Remove once cool, store in an airtight container.

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