Swedish Checkerboard Cookies (“Schackrutor”)
Photo by Tam Morales
- Serves
- 40 cookies
- Prep Time
- 1 Hour
- Cook Time
- 8 Minutes
“Schackrutor”, or chocolate-vanilla checkerboard cookies, are one of the most classic Swedish cookies you could make. When I think of them, I imagine them on a plate with white paper lace next to vintage tea cups and a big pot of coffee, surrounded by 5 women all named Birgitta (if you know, you know).
They’re essentially vanilla and chocolate slice-and-bake shortbread cookies, and are as delicious as they are easy. They are also similar to American checkerboard cookies, but have fewer ingredients and only four “squares,” rather than nine. Below I have for you a classic version as well as my mom’s “healthier” version which is made with oat flour and brown sugar (you can watch us make her version in our upcoming Mother’s Day segment!).
Tips & Tricks
- Oat flour soaks up more liquid, which is why I substitute in the second version with less oat flour than all-purpose.
- If you make the oat flour version, know they will taste more like biscuits than a classic shortbread (still delicious!)
- Melted butter often enhances gluten development and results in less-crumbly shortbread cookies, but since there’s not really gluten in oats, melted butter is preferred here. Since oat flour is already crumbly, we want to help prevent some of it with melted butter.
- These last in an airtight container for up to about a week
Ingredients
- CLASSIC SWEDISH VERSION
- 3 cup (340 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (21 grams) cocoa powder
- ~
- OAT FLOUR & BROWN SUGAR VERSION
- 2 2/3 cup (225 grams) oat flour
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons (113 grams) packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (21 grams) 100% cocoa powder
Featured Video
Swedish Checkerboard Cookies (“Schackrutor”)
Directions
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour (all-purpose or oat) and salt. Add the butter (melted or chilled) and work the mixture into a dough. If making the first version with chilled butter, press the flour and butter together with your fingers, also working it into a dough. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix until combined. This can also be done using a food processor.
- Step 2
Divide the dough in half, leaving one half in the bowl. Add the cocoa powder and mix until the cocoa is fully incorporated. Divide each dough in half again so that you have 4 total, then roll each into a 8-inch log. Stack them into a chessboard (checkerboard) pattern, pressing and rolling them slightly together. Once they seem secure, press the chess log into a long rectangle, 1½ to 2-inch thick. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate until mostly firm, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Step 3
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
- Step 4
Cut the chess cookies into ¼-inch thick slices, then place at least two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. In batches, bake the cookies until golden brown, 7 to 9 minutes. Let them cook slightly before removing them from the pan.