This is a recipe from Sunset magazine that I have adapted. These are very "showy" cookies - they look good and they taste good ! I make them for my holiday gift tins. The secret to this recipe is not an ingredient- but more a process that makes them easier to make and actually prettier in presentation.
The cookies are made by fusing three different colored doughs together and then cutting them so that they are tri-colored. The problem I had the first year I made them was that they fell apart in the oven. So this year, once I assembled them, I froze them unbaked on a cookie sheet overnight. When I baked them the next day, they stayed together and looked beautiful. I also used insulated cookie sheets, so I did not need to bake them on parchment paper.
1 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 Cups sugar
3 Cups flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
2 tsps vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of peppermint extract, divided
20-25 drops red food coloring
1/8 Cup of cocoa
12 ounces of Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate morsels
1 Cup of almonds or hazelnuts chopped in a flat bowl.
1- Using stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about four minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, using an electric hand mixer, mix flour, baking powder, and salt for about 30 seconds. (this works better than sifting to incorporate the baking powder into the flour).
2- With stand mixer running at low, add egg and yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture and beat on low just until combined- do not over mix.
3- Divide dough into thirds. Shape one third into a disk, set aside. Return another third to the mixing bowl. Add red coloring and 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract and mix, shape into a disk and set aside. Put last third of dough in mixing bowl and add 1/4 tsp peppermint extract and cocoa- shape into disk and set aside.
4- Draw a 6x8 inch rectangle on a piece of waxed paper. Lightly flour the paper. working with one disk at a time, put dough in center of rectangle. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, your fingers, and a pastry scraper, roll and shape each disk to fit the rectangle. Layer chocolate, white, and red layers on top of each other. Press gently with flour dusted rolling pin to seal layers together, and trim edges to be straight with a knife. Chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
5- Remove from refrigerator and let dough stand for five minutes before cutting-Cut dough stack lengthwise into three 2-inch wide columns. Cut each column crosswise into 1/3 in thick pieces. Do NOT make them too big (they spread a little while cooking).
6-Line a large cookie sheet with edges with wax paper. Carefully lay all the cookies side by side (as close as you can)and fill the sheet. Cover with a second layer of waxed paper, and place flat in the freezer for at least 2 hours- but can be up to 2 days.You can carefully stack cookie sheets on top of each other if you make alot.
7- To bake, preheat oven to 350. DO NOT take cookies out of freezer until you are ready. Place cookies about 2 inches apart on your regular cookie sheets you bake with. Make sure the sheets are not hot. You can use parchment paper, but since I use insulated cookie sheets, I do not need to. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes until edges are golden- watch them carefully so they don't burn. If you use two cookie sheets, make sure you change racks halfway through. Cool cookies on wire racks.
8- Melt chocolate in double boiler (or heatproof bowl over boiling pot of water- bottom of bowl should not touch water). Make sure not to get any water in the chocolate or it will seize. Stir chocolate until melted and smooth. Dip cookie about 1/2 inch into chocolate, then into nuts. Set on racks to harden.
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