Description
Slice and Bake Cookies offer four distinct and delicious flavors: Chai Spiced Cinnamon, Dark Chocolate Cherry, Chocolate Hazelnut, and Chocolate Peppermint. Each dough log is chilled, coated, sliced, and baked to create perfectly textured cookies perfect for gifting or enjoying any time.
Ingredients
Scale
Vanilla Dough Base
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (220g)
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed (70g)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (285g)
Chai Spiced Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 3 tbsp sparkling sugar
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon (for coating)
Dark Chocolate Cherry
- 2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup raw sugar (for coating)
Chocolate Dough Base
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (220g)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (225g)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (40g)
Chocolate Hazelnut
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts, finely chopped (for coating)
Chocolate Peppermint
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup white melting chocolate
- 2 tsp oil (to mix with white melting chocolate)
- 3 crushed candy canes (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Prepare Vanilla Dough: In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with a hand or stand mixer until pale and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and salt, then add flour. Use a rubber spatula to fold flour completely into the dough.
- Make Chai Spiced Dough: Split the vanilla dough roughly in half with a larger half for chai spiced cookies. Combine cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and allspice separately, then fold these spices gently into the larger dough to swirl but not fully incorporate.
- Make Dark Chocolate Cherry Dough: To the smaller half of vanilla dough, add chopped dark chocolate and dried cherries. Mix to combine thoroughly.
- Shape Vanilla Dough Logs: Lay two sheets of plastic wrap. Form each vanilla dough half into an 8-9 inch log, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Prepare Chocolate Dough: Using the same mixing bowl (scraped clean), cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in salt, vanilla, flour, and cocoa powder, folding with a rubber spatula to fully incorporate ingredients.
- Make Chocolate Hazelnut Dough: Split chocolate dough in half. To one half, fold in roughly chopped hazelnuts.
- Make Chocolate Peppermint Dough: To remaining chocolate dough, mix in peppermint extract and chopped dark chocolate. Form both chocolate dough halves into 8-9 inch logs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill alongside vanilla dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Prepare Coatings and Slice: Once chilled, roll the dark chocolate cherry log in raw sugar, pressing it to stick (optionally brush with egg wash if needed). Roll chai spiced log in cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll hazelnut log in finely chopped hazelnuts. Leave peppermint log plain.
- Slice Logs into Cookies: Trim log ends and slice each log into approximately 12 cookies. Keep slices refrigerated while oven preheats.
- Bake Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place cookie slices 2 inches apart. Bake for 18 minutes or until edges are pale golden and tops matte. Cool on racks and bake remaining dough batches.
- Dip Peppermint Cookies: Melt white chocolate with oil in 30-second bursts in a microwave until smooth. Dip half of each peppermint cookie in melted chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to set.
- Serve and Enjoy: After setting, cookies are ready to enjoy or package for gifting.
Notes
- FREEZING – Dough may be frozen either as logs or slices. Chill logs 2 hours first, then wrap with foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Sliced dough should be chilled, sliced, then frozen in airtight packaging; sliced is recommended as frozen logs are difficult to cut.
- SHIPPING – Cookies ship well. Group same-flavored cookies in sets of 3 wrapped together in plastic wrap. For peppermint cookies, wrap in plastic then foil to prevent flavor transfer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 160 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 60 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
