Ribbon Cookies

I have completed the ribbon cookies that I started last night and then chilled. This recipe was clipped from a magazine by my mom, probably before I was born. She made it every year and I have kept up the tradition. With ribbon cookies, the idea is to divide the dough into 3 portions and make them different colors – usually leaving one white. You then layer the colors in a loaf pan, chill overnight, slice the dough in half lengthwise and then cut into 1/4 inch slices.

I always had a problem with this because the loaf pans sides went out an angle, thus the cookies always had an odd shape – not proper for an obsessive compulsive baker such as myself.

In the last few years I played around with using straight-sided cake pans, which worked quite well. But my favorite way to create the ribbons is to press the layers into a rectangle on a piece of parchment and roll up to create a swirled log. After the dough is chilled overnight, it is quite easy to cut into uniquely swirled slices.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
Food coloring, as needed

Directions:

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Mix next 3 ingredients; add and mix well. Divide dough into 3 equal parts and add desired food coloring to two of those parts.

Either line a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan with parchment paper and layer each color of dough, pressing down on each to even it out before adding the next layer – or – place the first color on parchment paper and spread out into a rectangle. Add each additional color, spreading out to cover the first layer. Carefully roll up the log with the parchment paper, making sure not to get it stuck in the log. For either method, chill overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove the dough from the pan and/or paper and slice into 1/4 inch slices. Place about 1 inch apart onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake 10 minutes – do not allow the cookies to brown.

Baking Steps:

	Log Cut in HalfThe previous night I had layered the colored parts of dough and rolled them up into log in parchment paper and chilled overnight. This picture shows what the log looks like cut in half.
	Log HalfAfter slicing the log in half, I put one half back in the fridge and removed the parchment from the other half.As you can see, when the layers were rolled up the white dough didn’t make it all the way to the end. That’s okay, though, because those cookies will still look cool, just different. It is a big step for me to not be upset by that.
	Slicing the CookiesUsing a sharp knife, I cut the log into about 1/4 inch thick slices. It is important to keep the slices uniform or else some will be burnt, which is a bad thing.Keep the dough you are not working with chilled, otherwise it will be much more difficult to cut.
	Placing on Cookie SheetAfter the cookies have been sliced, you can being to place them on the cookie sheet. You may want to make sure the same side is facing up, at least if you are like me and want them all to look similar. Since the cookies have a lot of butter, they will spread out a bit, so I usually only put a dozen on a sheet.
	Fresh out of the OvenAlmost more important than properly chilling the dough is to ensure the cookies are not over-cooked. They taste best when the center is still slightly doughy. The cookies should be removed from the oven when the edges are just barely starting to turn golden brown.
	Overcooked CookiesAs you can see, it is very easy to let the cookies get overdone. It only takes a few minutes longer for them to start turning brown. Well, I guess that just means more for me to eat, since I would never hand out overdone cookies. Perish the thought.
	All Done!Once all my cookies were done, I lined them up for a class photo. They aren’t perfect, but they are pretty and unique. Like a snowflake, each one is different. And they taste pretty damn good, too!