Gingerbread Pinwheels

Ingredients

• 0.5 teaspoon baking soda 
• 0.8 cup firmly brown sugar packed
• 0.4 lb butter at room temperature
• 0.5 lb butter at room temperature
• 1 large eggs 
• 2 large egg yolks 
• 2.3 cups flour all-purpose
• 3 cups flour all-purpose
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 0.5 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger 
• 0.5 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 0.3 cup blackstrap molasses dark light
• 0.3 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• baking sheet
• oven
• knife
• blender
• plastic wrap
• hand mixer
• spatula
• rolling pin

Directions

1. To make gingerbread dough: In a bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and molasses until smooth. Beat in egg yolks until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. In another bowl, mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and flatten slightly; chill until firm but pliable, about 1 hour (or freeze for 30 minutes).
2. To make plain dough: In a bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low speed, beat flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and flatten slightly; chill as directed above.
3. Unwrap dough. With a lightly floured rolling pin, on a lightly floured sheet of waxed paper, roll out gingerbread dough into a 12- by 15-inch rectangle. Slide dough, on waxed paper, onto a 12- by 15-inch baking sheet. Repeat to roll out plain dough; chill both rectangles until firm to the touch but still pliable, about 10 minutes.
4. Carefully invert the gingerbread dough over the plain dough, lining up edges as evenly as possible.
5. Remove waxed paper from top of gingerbread dough. With a sharp knife, cut rectangle in half lengthwise to make two 6- by 15-inch rectangles.
6. Transfer one of the rectangles to another sheet of waxed paper.
7. Starting at long edge of one rectangle, lift waxed paper to roll doughs into a tight, even cylinder (if dough cracks instead of rolling easily, let stand about 10 minutes to soften slightly). Repeat to roll other rectangle. Wrap rolls in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
8. Unwrap rolls and slice crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds.
9. Lay cookies flat, 1 inch apart, on buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.
10. Bake cookies in a 325 oven until edges just begin to brown, 15 to 20 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. With a wide spatula, transfer pinwheels to racks to cool completely.