Checkerboard Toast Recipes

CHECKERBOARD COOKIES

Steps:

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together the butter and sugar for 2 minutes.
• Add in the egg, the yolk, vanilla, baking powder, and salt and mix for 1 minute until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour, mixing until just combined.
• Divide the dough in half, removing half from the mixing bowl.
• Add in the cocoa powder to the remaining dough in the mixing bowl and mix until incorporated.
• Form each dough into a squared off log, 2- inches tall and 6- inches long. Make sure both are the same size.
• Place dough on a baking sheet and cover with cling wrap. Place dough into the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.
• Using a sharp knife slice the dough into thirds, longwise. Then turn the dough one turn and cut into thirds again. You will have 9 strips. Repeat the process with the other dough. You will have 18 strips total.
• Lay 1 piece of vanilla dough, one piece of chocolate, and another piece of vanilla on a flat surface next to each other. Top the 3 strips with alternating colors. Repeat this once more, so you have a square log. Press the dough strips together tightly, keeping the square shape. Repeat this with the remaining dough.
• Refrigerate again for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with Reynolds Kitchens® Parchment Paper.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and slice into 1/4- inch pieces.
• Place the pieces on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

RED AND BLACK CHECKERBOARD COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and beat on low until incorporated.
• Divide the dough in half. (This recipe relies on precision, so use a scale if you have one.)
• Return half of the dough to the bowl and add about 8 drops food coloring and the remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Beat until thoroughly incorporated. Add more food coloring until the dough is a true, bright red, beating well to fully distribute the color. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until just firm, about 30 minutes.
• Put the remaining dough in the bowl and add the cocoa powder. Beat until evenly distributed. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until just firm, about 30 minutes.
• Use a ruler to draw a 7-inch square on 2 pieces of parchment. Invert one piece of parchment and put one piece of dough in the square. Cover with another, unmarked parchment and pat and roll the dough to the dimensions of the square, making sure it is an even thickness. Trim the edges of the square if necessary. Carefully transfer the dough on the parchment to the refrigerator and chill until firm.
• Meanwhile, repeat with the other piece of dough and chill.
• Take out one square of dough and use a ruler to carefully cut it into 9 3/4-inch-thick strips (there may be extra dough). Carefully return the dough to the refrigerator until firm and repeat with the other square of dough. Refrigerate until firm.
• Lay out a clean piece of parchment paper. Carefully arrange three strips of dough directly next to each other on the parchment, alternating colors (i.e. red, black, red). Top each strip with a strip of the opposite color to make a second layer. Continue to layer, again alternating colors, to make a cookie brick; it will be 3-by-6 inches. Use a ruler or the side of a bench scraper to straighten the edges of the brick. Wrap the brick in the parchment paper, gently turning and pressing against the work surface to flatten out all the sides. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Slice the brick crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick cookies, arranging them about 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies, switching the positions of the baking sheets halfway through, until slightly puffed and just set, 12 to 13 minutes.
• Cool on the pans 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

CHECKERBOARD COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Add flour and salt and blend well. Divide dough in half. Add cocoa to 1/2 of dough. Let rest. Roll 1/4 inch cylinders of chocolate and plain vanilla dough about 12 inches long. Arrange in checkerboard by alternating 6 cylinders of chocolate and vanilla dough, contrasting each time to six layers total. Press tightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 1/2 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a sharp knife, slice the dough into rounds about 1/3-inch thick. Place 1 inch apart on a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

CHOCOLATE CHECKERBOARD HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Warm the milk in a saucepan until steaming. Remove from the heat, then add the butter. Swirl to melt the butter and cool the milk a little. Mix the cocoa with 2 tbsp boiling water, then set aside to cool.
• Mix 500g flour, the cinnamon, sugar, yeast and ½ tsp salt in a bowl. When the milk mixture is still warm, add it to the flour bowl along with the egg, and mix to form a sticky dough (use a tabletop mixer if you have one). Continue mixing, then kneading, until the dough is less sticky and feels springy - about 8-10 mins. Add the dried fruit and mix again until the fruit is evenly spread through the dough.
• Put a clean bowl on your scales. Scrape the dough into this bowl to weigh the full quantity, then return half of it to the original bowl. Add the cocoa mixture, dark chocolate and orange zest to one bowl, and the white chocolate and cherries to the other. Knead each dough for a further minute or until well mixed. Return each dough to a cleaned, oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel or cling film and leave somewhere warm for 1-2 hrs (depending on your kitchen temperature) until the dough has roughly doubled in size.
• Knead and fold each dough a little bit to knock out some air. Divide each dough into six balls (use the scales if you want your buns to be perfectly sized.) To shape the buns, take a piece of dough in your palm, pull a corner into the middle and press to seal. Continue doing this around the edge of the dough to create a tight bun shape when you flip the dough over. Shape all the buns, then arrange them on a lightly oiled tray in a chequerboard pattern, leaving about 1.5cm around each one to allow space for rising. Cover the tray loosely with oiled cling film and set aside for 30 mins-1 hr until almost doubled in size again. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Mix the remaining our with enough water to make a thick paste, about 80ml. Transfer the paste to a piping bag and snip a small opening. Uncover the buns and pipe a line along each row, then repeat in the other direction to make crosses. Bake for 25-30 mins until the buns are golden brown. Leave to cool.
• Warm the jam in a saucepan and brush over the buns for a glossy finish, if you like. To serve, split the buns, toast them under the grill and enjoy with salted butter.

CHECKERBOARD TOAST

Steps:

• Toast bread slices; remove crusts and cut each slice into 4 squares.
• Spread peanut butter over 12 toast squares. Spread chocolate-hazelnut spread over the remaining 12 toast squares. Arrange squares in a grid pattern on a serving plate, alternating chocolate-hazelnut spread and peanut butter topped slices.