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1. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add whole eggs one at a time, salt and mix well. Beat in milk. Add flour a little at a time mixing until incorporated.
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2. Divide dough into equal portions. For chocolate dough add 1/4 cup coco powder. Mix well with an electric mixer on medium until coco is incorporated. (For tinted dough start with 1/4 teaspoon food coloring and gradually add more). Wrap each portion in plastic, press flat to form into rectangles. Chill 1 hour or up to 1 day.
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3. Dust a piece of parchment with flour. Roll out each piece of dough to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness to make spirals. Use bench scraper to trim dough edges to make them even. Chill 20 minutes.
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4. To make spirals measure and trim 2 or more colors of dough to the same size. Brush tops of layers evenly with egg white to help layers stick together, then stack layers. Starting at short end, roll up dough. Gently pinch and press edge of roll to seal. To decorate cookies, spread desired topping on a baking sheet, brush roll with beaten egg white and roll in topping.
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6. Roll each log in parchment, twist ends closed. To help logs keep their rounded shape, set each in a cardboard paper towel tube sliced lengthwise. Chill logs, seam side down, 90 minutes or up to one month.
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7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut 15 inches of dental floss. Let logs soften at room temperature 10 minutes. Remove parchment. Wrap dental floss around log and pull through to make 1/4 inch slices.
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8. Place slices on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheet half way through, until firm but not browned 12 to 15 minutes, then transfer cookies to rack to cool completely.
