Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2011

I just made two batches of these last night. I made the first batch just as written, and they were good. For the second batch I used butter instead of shortening and brown sugar instead of white, and they were even better. I did find that the butter had a bit softer, thinner dough, so I had to add a bit more flour. They were wonderful and they turned out so pretty. I put the dough in the fridge to chill before I put the chocolate layer on. After rolling, you should chill for about 20-30 minutes as the recipe says. If you chill for longer, then the chocolate in the center gets hard and makes them hard to slice.

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Reviewer:

chemgal

Reviewed: Aug. 16, 2011

I followed the recipe exactly, and while these were fine, I doubt if I'll make them again. I had my dough in the fridge for a little over two hours, and it was still very soft (especially in contrast to the completely solid cold chocolate) when I went to slice. I didn't mind the reshaping I had to do, and really appreciate the previous suggestion about using a serrated knife to cut the cookies. However, the taste - while good - didn't quite make them worth the hassle, in my opinion.

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Reviewer:

missrachelv

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fairfax, Virginia, USA

Living In: Richmond, Virginia, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 22, 2008

I make these all the time, my kids love them. I use brown sugar instead of white. I roll this out between 2 sheets of wax paper, spray the bottom one lightly with cooking spray, flour the top of your dough so the top sheet of wax paper doesn't stick. Roll to desired dimensions. Remove top piece of wax paper, spread your chocolate, use the wax paper your dough is sitting on to help you roll the dough- it's a bit tricky. I usually wrap my log in a fresh piece of wax paper. Refridgerate, the trick to these cookies is not to refridgerate the dough for too long or the chocolate will harden and be difficult to cut. Also, rotate the dough log as it loses shape. The thinner the slices the better (my personal opinion). Of course if you cut these thinner then the recipe, you'll need to adjust your cooking time, about 8-9 mins still produces a crunchy cookie. Baking these on parchment paper will keep your pan from becoming messy from the melted chocolate, and easier to remove. Not as hard to make the 2nd time as they were the first, and then you'll be a pro

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Reviewer:

dazeedoo

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Lebanon, Oregon, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 5, 2008

I made the dough the night before and kept in the refrigerator overnight. It was still difficult to roll, but with a lot of flour, I was able to roll it well. I also put the finished "jelly roll" in the freezer for awhile before slicing and they turned out fine. Be careful with placing on the cookie sheet as the cookies spread quite a bit with baking.

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Reviewer:

Reviewed: Nov. 24, 2008

This recipe is very similar to a family recipe I have made for years since I was a teenager. Yes, it is tricky, but here are some tips. Make sure the dough is thick enough before spreading the melted chocolate (you may need to add more flour). Use a warm knife or spreader to spread the chocolate (keep dipping knife in hot water to keep it hot). Make 2 smaller rolls instead of one large one to cut easier. Once rolled, wrap it in waxed paper. When ready to cut, only bring one roll out of frig at a time & roll the waxed cookie roll (still in the waxed paper) around on the counter to make it nice & round. When ready to cut, use a serated knife to keep dough from crumbling. Once you try these tips, you should have a good experience!

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Reviewer:

Colleen B

Reviewed: Nov. 11, 2007

My grandmother made a very similar recipe when I was growing up. When I tried to make it with my children, I had the same problems cutting the dough. I solved the problem by wrapping the rolls in waxed paper, turning them in the refrigerator while chilling to keep round, and then cutting THROUGH the wax paper rather than unwrapping to slice. The end slices weren't perfect, but most of them were well-shaped this way.

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Reviewer:

JREHMKE

Reviewed: Feb. 1, 2007

My daughter and I made these cookies together, and they turned out delicious and very pretty. We put the dough in the freezer while we melted the chocolate, and I think that helped. We used a pastry cloth coated with flour, then rolled it right up in the cloth. The hardest part was cutting them because the dough was soft while the chocolate was hard. You will want to do it fairly quickly and use a serrated knife. We just reshaped the ones that got a little smushed! Thanks for a great cookie recipe!

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Reviewer:

SWEETBEE1

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Manlius, New York, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 17, 2006

It was difficult to keep the pinwheel shape after I put the roll in the fridge. The dough it too soft not to put it in the firdge. Next time I may try freezing the whole roll and cut it while frozen. The cookies tasted really good if you don't mind a mangled chocolate spiral... I will make these again.

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Reviewer:

Kim

Reviewed: Dec. 9, 2006

What a nightmare this recipe was. The dough was extremely soft coming together so it was very difficult to roll up. After it came out of the fridge, with each slice of the knife, the dough crumbled and fell apart. It was impossible to work with. I ended up molding circles with my hands and baking them up. The taste was definitely not good enough to make up for all the effort it was to make these. I will never make these again.

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Reviewer:

caliboo

Reviewed: Nov. 27, 2006

The dough was very difficult to handle. It kept breaking while I was trying to roll it. And my roll flattened in the fridge while I was waiting for it to harden and set. So my cookies turned out distorted and they tasted no better than a store bought cookie.

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