Art Deco Cookies

These cookies are from an ancient baking pamphlet. Basically, these are pinwheel cookies but cut with a doughnut cutter and then cut in half to create the effect. They look very Art Deco to me, hence the name. I think it sounds better than "Cut-Ups" which makes me think of William S. Burroughs and hell, who wants to think about Burroughs when they're baking cookies?

It was 1 in the afternoon when Danny brought me the pamphlet and asked if we could make some sort of elaborate date-filled cookie. I suggested he pick something else and he settled on these. Hindsight being 20/20, the date cookies might have been easier. Oh well, by the time he was up from nap at 5 PM, the cookies were cooling on a rack, ready to spoil his dinner.

The dough is very soft and difficult to work with. I managed it without adding any additional flour to dust the surface, but I am pretty skilled with a rolling pin. You'll need a very thin metal spatula to lift these off. Work fast, and keep the scraps in the fridge until you're ready to re-roll them.

You Will Need:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon double acting baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons powdered cocoa

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt-set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour in two additions and mix well. Remove half of the dough to another bowl and beat in the cocoa and cinnamon. Mix well. Wrap each in a ball with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out each dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with doughnut cutter. Remove centres placing light in dark and dark in light. Cut each round in half and then place together with opposite on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes until edges are just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on pan, the carefully transfer to rack. Makes (about) 2 dozen.