Two-tone biscuits

1. Mix the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
2. Add the egg, vanilla and pinch of salt and beat until smooth. 
3. Divide the butter mixture equally into two mixing bowls.
4. Sift 1 cup flour into one of the mixing bowls and mix to create the white, vanilla dough.
5. Sift the remainder of the flour and the cocoa into the second mixing bowl and mix well to create the chocolate dough.
6. Roll the dough, separately from each other, between sheets of baking paper or plastic wrap. You will need two rectangles of about 20 cm x 30 cm. 

For sweet spirals:

1. Place the vanilla dough rectangle flat on the chocolate dough rectangle.
2. Roll the two pieces into a thick cylinder.
3. Wrap in waxed paper or foil and chill for up to an hour in the fridge.
4. Cut the cold dough cylinder into 1 cm slices.
5. Place on baking paper on a baking tray. Bake in the oven at 175°C for 10 to 12 minutes, until just golden.

For two-toned biscuits:

You will need two cookie cutters: one quite large and one quite small.

1. Separately roll the dough between sheets of baking paper (or plastic wrap) to a thickness of about 5 mm.
2. Use the large cookie cutters to cut large shapes from both the chocolate and vanilla dough.
3. Once done, use the small cutter to cut a shape from thecenter of each of your large shapes. Swap the inner shapes and assemble, to make biscuits that are chocolate with a small white bit in the centre, and vanilla with a small brown centre.
4. Place on baking paper on a baking tray. Bake in the oven at 175°C for 10 to 12 minutes, until just golden.

For wheel pattern biscuits:

1. Form two cylindrical rolls, one from the vanilla and one from the chocolate dough. 
2. Wrap in baking paper or foil and freeze the two rolls for about 30 minute.
3. Carefully cut each frozen roll lengthwise into halves or quarters. Swap colours and re-assemble the dough cylinders.
4. Roll the cylinders on the table to make sure that the brown and white dough hold together firmly.
5. Cut the dough cylinders into 1 cm slices.
6. Place on baking paper on a baking tray. Bake in the oven at 175°C for 10 to 12 minutes, until just golden.

For chequered shapes:

1. Shape two longish rectangular slabs.
2. Freeze and cut each slab into slices and combine to form a thick rectangle (as high as it is wide) in alternative colours. If need nine slices in total for three rows by three rows, for example, you could cut five slices from each colour of dough and use the left-over slice for something else.
3. Cut the cold dough cylinder into 1 cm slices.
4. Place on baking paper on a baking tray. Bake in the oven at 175°C for 10 to 12 minutes, until just golden.