Servings: Makes 12 dozen

Vanilla Dough Vanilla Dough
2.5 cup Land o Lakes margarine, softened (5 sticks, feel free to substitute 1 stick of butter to not buy another package of margarine) 2.5 cup Land o Lakes margarine, softened (5 sticks, feel free to substitute 1 stick of butter to not buy another package of margarine)
400g sugar 400g sugar
725g flour 725g flour
2 tsp vanilla 2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt ¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking powder
 
Chocolate Dough Chocolate Dough
2 cup Land o Lakes margarine, softened (4 sticks) 2 cup Land o Lakes margarine, softened (4 sticks)
340g sugar 340g sugar
600g flour 600g flour
2 tsp vanilla 2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt ¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking powder
4oz unsweetened chocolate (melted) 4oz unsweetened chocolate (melted)

Blend margarine & sugar
Add vanilla, baking powder, and salt
Add flour, mixing well
Take out dough and set aside
For chocolate dough, do steps 1 to 4 using the same bowl & beater. No need to clean.
Melt chocolate in microwave. Let it cool slightly before adding to the bowl. Then blend it in.
Divide each dough into 4 portions. I like to put the dough on a scale with wax paper and weigh it and then divide it into 4. As an example, I weighed 1650g of vanilla so that's 410g each (roughly). For chocolate, it 1492g, 373g each. So you should have 8 balls (4 vanilla, 4 chocolate) before proceeding.
Roll out each dough between 2 sheets of wax paper. You are trying to roll it to a thickness of ⅛" or so. Slightly thicker than you would for pie dough.
Try to roll it to the shape of a rectangle. Doesn't have to be perfectly shaped. It's ok if it's more like an oval than a rectangle. Feel free to try to square it up a bit with a butter knife by cutting off some of the ends and putting the dough in the corners. Then roll it out some more.
Place chocolate dough on top of plain dough. This means peeling the top sheet of wax paper from the top of the chocolate dough and the plain dough and flipping the chocolate dough onto top of the plain dough.
Peel the top layer of wax paper so that there is only one sheet at the bottom of the two dough layers.
Roll the two dough layers together jelly roll fashion. As you roll the two together, you'll need to peel the wax paper away.
Once it's rolled up, put the cookie roll inside the wax paper and put it in fridge for 30 minutes at least.
Cut into slices somewhere between ⅛" to ¼" thick.
Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 deg for about 10 minutes. Pull out when you see the vanilla edges turning a light brown.

Use Margarine, not butter. I prefer to use butter (fresh, unsalted) for all of my cooking but I found margarine to be better for this recipe. Pinwheel cookies made with butter tend to spread too much and not hold their shape well. Plus, it doesn't taste as good (hard to believe!). Since the vanilla dough is using an extra stick of margarine, feel free to substitute a stick of butter so you don't have to buy another package of margarine.  Use Margarine, not butter. I prefer to use butter (fresh, unsalted) for all of my cooking but I found margarine to be better for this recipe. Pinwheel cookies made with butter tend to spread too much and not hold their shape well. Plus, it doesn't taste as good (hard to believe!). Since the vanilla dough is using an extra stick of margarine, feel free to substitute a stick of butter so you don't have to buy another package of margarine.
When you roll the cookie dough up and then cut the slices, you'll find that the ends will not be perfect. In other words, it will be tapered unless you were able to roll out perfect rectangles. I usually just cut off the tapered ends and just squeeze them together to make a couple of cookie "blobs".  When you roll the cookie dough up and then cut the slices, you'll find that the ends will not be perfect. In other words, it will be tapered unless you were able to roll out perfect rectangles. I usually just cut off the tapered ends and just squeeze them together to make a couple of cookie "blobs".
I like my cookies to be on the crisp side. The 8 mins is a rough guideline. I will cook them until the white part of the dough has some light brown edges.  I like my cookies to be on the crisp side. The 8 mins is a rough guideline. I will cook them until the white part of the dough has some light brown edges.