March 26, 2011

Miffy in Chocolate Pinwheel land

Miffy likes chocolate pinwheels too





Chocolate pinwheel cookies
  • 115g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 100g caster sugar + 2 tsp vanilla extract OR 100g vanilla sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 300g sifted plain flour
  • 25g cornflour/cornstarch/ground almonds (I prefer almonds but cornstarch is cheaper)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 100g dark chocolate, chopped
  1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, set aside.
  2. Cream butter and sugar in a separate bowl until pale and fluffy; add eggs (and vanilla extract, if using).
  3. Sift in dry ingredients into the wet mixture, combine until no traces of flour are left and you have a smooth paste/dough.
  4. Divide mixture into two bowls.
  5. Melt chocolate (using microwave or a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water [bain marie]), let cool slightly before mixing into one half of the dough.
  6. Wrap with clingfilm and chill in fridge until firm, at least one hour and could be overnight.
  7. Roll out the plain dough on a lightly floured surface (I use a pastry mat so that my countertop doesn't get too dirty/sticky). It should be in a rough rectangular shape and quite thin, maybe 1cm thick? The best way to judge is to roll it out until it's thin but you can still handle it without it breaking into little pieces.
  8. Then roll out the chocolate dough in the same way on a separate part of the floured surface.
  9. Brush off excess flour, then transfer chocolate dough rectangle on top of the vanilla dough rectangle. Trim any overhanging edges. You should have a large rectangle with two layers (one vanilla, one choc).
  10. Gently roll up the rectangle along the longer length. I find it easier to roll towards me so in step 9 I place the long side of the rectangle facing/parallel to me.
  11. Wrap in parchment/baking paper, then chill in the fridge at least another hour or overnight. Chilling the dough helps the butter set and avoids the disaster of having your cookies melt and spread in the oven.
  12. Slice the log of cookie dough into thin coins and place on lined baking sheet.
  13. Bake in preheated oven at 190C for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
  14. Let cool, then store in airtight container for up to a week. (You can also freeze these.)

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