Of the 3 young people who live with us, there is one who prefers dark chocolate, one who prefers milk chocolate and one who prefers white chocolate. I try to alternate my baking a bit, in an attempt to keep them all happy, but this time I decided to try a new approach and use all three!

Three chocolate cookie doughs – dark, milk and white – rolled out and layered then rolled up into a log, sliced and baked for three-toned chocolate pinwheel cookies. As the song goes… Is everybody happy? You bet your life we are!

The dough or the log stages can be done ahead. The dough will keep for three days in the fridge or a month in the freezer. If freezing, wrap well in several layers of plastic. Thaw before rolling if at dough stage; cookies can be cut directly from frozen log but they will take a few minutes longer to bake.

Makes up to 36, depending on how thick you cut them
Preparation time about an hour all together
Chilling time at least an hour all together
Baking time about 40 minutes all together

Ingredients

170g (1 1/2 sticks, 3/4 cup) butter, room temperature
150g (1/2 cup) granulated (white) sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
420g (3 1/3 cups, spooned and scraped) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tsp fine salt
2 tsp baking powder

100g (3 1/2 oz) dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
100g (3 1/2 oz) milk chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
100g (3 1/2 oz) white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

Directions

In a bowl or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat to combine well.

Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder and add to the butter mixture. Stir just to combine.

Divide the mixture in three equal portions, place in separate bowls and add one melted chocolate to each portion, stirring and kneading in each until well combined.

Form each dough into a slightly flattened ball, wrap each in plastic or place in ziploc bags and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, overnight if desired.

If the dough has chilled for more than an hour, it will need to be removed from the fridge for about half an hour before rolling.

Roll the three doughs out between sheets of parchment to about 28 x 38cm (11 x 15″). It doesn’t mater too much if they aren’t perfect.

Leave your bottom layer on a piece of parchment, then, removing the other sheets of parchment as you go, layer the three doughs one on top of the other (I went dark on the bottom, then milk, then white) and, using the bottom sheet of parchment to help, roll up from the long edge into a tight log. Trim the ends as needed and roll the log back and forth to smooth it out.

Wrap the log in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes, overnight if desired.

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Slice the log into cookies about 1cm (2/5″) thick. Some of mine were a little thicker, so I got 32.

Arrange cookies a few centimetres (about 1″) apart on the baking sheets.

Bake one sheet at a time in centre of oven for about 18 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.