SPIRAL SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Time does not include refrigerating the doughs.
• To make the plain dough: Using a sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise.
• Separate the seeds from the skin by scraping the blade of the knife along the inside of the bean.
• Place the butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla bean seeds and orange zest in a medium sized mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute.
• Combine the baking powder, salt and flour and add to the butter mixture all at once.
• Beat on low speed just until combined, about 1 minute.
• (Do not overmix the dough, or it will become tough.) Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a 4-inch by 9-inch rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• (The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated overnight.) To make the chocolate dough: Using a sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise.
• Separate the seeds from the skin by scraping the blade of the knife along the inside of the bean.
• Place the butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla bean seeds and orange zest in a medium sized mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute.
• Combine the baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and flour and add to the butter mixture all at once.
• Beat on low speed just until combined, about 1 minute.
• (Do not overmix the dough, or it will become tough.) Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a 4-inch by 9-inch rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for one hour.
• (The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated overnight.) To make the spiral pattern: Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.
• Remove the doughs from the refrigerator.
• (They will be hard; to make them easier to roll, give them a few quick raps with a rolling pin.) Lightly flour each side of each piece of dough and roll each piece into a 7-inch by 16-inch rectangle about 1/8-inch thick.
• Brush what will be your bottom layer of dough with a thin coat of water.
• Place one dough on top of the other and roll out another inch or so.
• Brush the top dough with another thin coat of water to help the dough stick to itself.
• Starting at the long side, roll the two dough into a cylinder 1 1/2- to 1 3/4-inch in diameter.
• Put in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes or so until hard.
• Cut the cylinder into 1/2-inch thick slices and lay the cookies cut side down on a parchment paper covered baking sheet, about 1/2-inch apart.
• Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes and cool on a wire rack.
• The cookies will store for 5 days in an airtight container.