Description
These festive Christmas Pinwheel Cookies are a delightful treat featuring layers of red, green, and white dough rolled together into beautiful swirls. Perfect for holiday celebrations, these buttery cookies are adorned with holiday sprinkles and offer a colorful and tasty addition to any cookie platter.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups (360 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Coloring and Toppings
- ½ teaspoon red food coloring
- ½ teaspoon green food coloring
- ½ cup Holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside for later use.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a separate bowl, cream the softened butter with the light brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Add the egg and vanilla extract into the creamed mixture and mix thoroughly until incorporated.
- Incorporate Flour Mixture: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until no streaks of flour remain and a uniform dough forms.
- Divide and Color Dough: Split the dough into three equal portions. Add red food coloring to one portion, green food coloring to the second, and leave the third uncolored. Mix each dough portion until the color is evenly distributed.
- Roll and Layer: On a lightly floured surface, roll each colored dough portion into approximately 12×8 inch (30×20 cm) rectangles. Layer the dough rectangles in this order: green on bottom, white in the middle, and red on top.
- Roll into Log: Starting from the long edge, tightly roll the layered dough into a log shape. Roll the log in holiday sprinkles to coat the outside, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
- Chill: Refrigerate the wrapped dough log for at least 3 hours to firm up and set the shape.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) or 160°C if using a fan/convection oven. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Slice Cookies: Remove chilled dough from the fridge and slice into ¼ inch thick slices. Arrange the slices cut side down on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them evenly.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until they are slightly puffed and lightly golden around the edges. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through baking for even cooking.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Rotate the cookies halfway through baking to ensure even cooking.
- This recipe yields about 36 to 48 cookies depending on how tightly you roll the dough and thickness of slices.
- Keeping the dough well chilled is crucial to maintain clean, firm layers when slicing.
- Any leftover dough scraps make beautiful marbled swirl cookies and can be baked alongside the main batch.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 120 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 45 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
