Procrastibaking: the act of baking 4 batches of cookies rather than opening your notes to study for final exams. (Thanks, Pete, for the new word.) That is what I engaged in this weekend.

I made Gingerbread Men, Sugar Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and these: Chocolate-Pistachio Swirls. Between chilling time, rolling out and cutting time, and baking time, that is two full afternoons of cookie making. Leaving zero time for textbooks. Just the way I like my weekends.

Realistically, it was just my way of letting myself have one last bit of fun before hunkering down and moving into the library for finals period. Now that the fun is gone, the rest of the semester is looking much less wonderful.

At least I’ll have plenty of cookies to get me through! Because, as you should all know, there are no calories during finals period. Proven fact.

Anyways, start by beating the butter using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 30 seconds.Add the sugar, baking powder, and, salt and beat until light and fluffy.Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add the flour and beat until combined. You may have to do some of this by hand if you don’t want to switch to the dough hook. Divide the dough into three portions. Add the melted chocolate to one. Add the pistachios and green food coloring to another. Leave the third plain. Divide each portion into fourths, and roll out into a half-inch thick rope. Line up one of each flavor.Twist and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining strands.It’s fine if they break – you’ll see my broken pieces in the picture above. They still make cookies.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then, cut the logs into half-inch thick pieces and form each piece into a ball, trying not to mix the colors together too much. Place them about two inches apart on a baking sheet.Use a glass to flatten into round disks.Bake at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden.Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.This makes a LOT of cookies. We’re talking cookies for days.Fortunately they’re nice and small. So you can also eat LOTS.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Pistachio Swirls

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
• 2 drops green food coloring

Directions:

1. Cream the butter on medium speed of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
2. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt and cream until smooth.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla extract to incorporate.
4. Add flour and mix until blended.
5. Split dough into 3 equal parts. To one part, add melted chocolate. To a second part, add pistachios and green food coloring. Leave the third plain.
6. Separate each part into 4 pieces. Roll pieces into 1/2-inch thick ropes. Twist together one of each color and place on baking sheet.
7. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Slice into 1/2-inch thick pieces and roll each into a ball, trying not to mix colors. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
8. Use a glass to flatten balls into round disks.
9. Bake at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.