Perfect Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

Instructions

1. Melt the chocolate in a small heavy-bottomed sauce pot over very low heat. Once melted set it aside.
2. Meanwhile in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
3. Once the butter is light and fluffy, cream in the eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. When the eggs have been incorporated and the mixture is fluffy, add the peppermint extract and mix well.
5. Mix the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl. Add the flour into the wet ingredients and mix until the dough comes together in a shiny ball.
6. Divide the dough in half and take one portion and set it aside.
7. Add the melted chocolate to the remaining dough and mix until fully distributed.
8. Cut three large sheets of parchment paper about 24 inches long.
9. Place the chocolate dough on the first sheet and shape it into an even rectangle with your hands. Pat it out to about 2 inches thick, keeping the sides as straight as possible.
10. Place the second parchment sheet over the dough and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle 1/3 inch thick. The final dimensions will be about 18 inches wide by 12 inches deep.
11. If the edges become uneven during rolling, remove the top piece of parchment and use the bottom sheet to fold the edge back towards the middle; you can do this on all four sides, squaring the edges and making them straight. Replace the sheet of parchment and flatten the overlapping edges with your hands, keeping the rectangle shape as straight as possible. Give the dough a light rolling but be careful to keep the rectangular shape.
12. Remove the top sheet of parchment and set the rolled dough aside. Follow the same steps to make the same sized rectangle out of the other half of the dough.
13. Once both sheets of dough are the same size, choose whether you want the chocolate on the outside or inside of the spiral. The bottom dough will be the outside. If one dough sheet looks a little larger, use that as the bottom.
14. Using the parchment, line up the top dough above the bottom dough and flip the top dough sheet onto the bottom dough sheet. Hopefully it will align well and the sheets will be evenly stacked. This technique takes practice so it might not be perfect the first time.
15. Use your rolling pin to lightly roll the sheets together — you don't want to make it much thinner so be careful with how much pressure you use.
16. Remove the top sheet of parchment, and starting at the top edge, use the bottom sheet of parchment to fold over the first edge of the dough, starting a cylinder.
17. Use the parchment to pull the dough down and roll it tightly as you go. Use your hands to smooth the dough and keep it in a straight tight log shape.
18. Continue to roll the dough into a cylinder. Once you have rolled it all the way, place the dough at one edge of the parchment paper in the center and roll the parchment tightly around the dough. Twist the ends of the parchment paper to keep it tight against the dough.
19. Reserve the two extra sheets of parchment you used for rolling to bake the cookies.
20. Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours.
21. Once completely chilled, preheat your oven to 400℉.
22. Unroll your dough and start slicing coins about 1/3 inch thick. Place them on parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake each sheet for 10 to 12 minutes.
23. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the pan before removing them to cooling racks.