Christmas Pinwheel Cookies
This Christmas pinwheel cookies recipe may be my favorite I've made all holiday season. With festive green swirls and crunchy red sugary edges, the fun holiday cookies are show-stopping and secretly quite easy to make (if you have a little patience.)
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Servings: 2 dozen
Equipment
- dry measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowl set
- heavy-duty stand mixer
- Rolling Pin
- rimmed baking sheets
- cooling racks
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 drops Leaf Green food coloring paste (such as Americolor)
- Red sanding sugar
Instructions
- Stir together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Beat the softened butter and sugar at medium speed in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. (I used a heavy-duty stand mixer with the paddle attachment but a hand mixer works fine too.) Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until the yellow disappears after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until well combined. Divide dough in half and place one half in a separate bowl. Add 4 drops of food coloring paste to one-half of the dough, and beat until well combined.
- Roll the green dough into a 9- x 16-inch rectangle between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll the plain dough into a 9- x 16-inch rectangle between two sheets of parchment paper. Place both dough sheets in the refrigerator and let the dough chill for 30 minutes.
- Unwrap the green dough and place on a clean surface. Turn out the plain dough on top of green dough, and trim the edges if necessary. Roll dough into a tight log, starting with one long end. Wrap with plastic wrap or parchment paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour the sanding sugar into a rimmed baking sheet. Unwrap the dough and roll the cookie dough log in sanding sugar until the dough is completely covered. Trim off the ends and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices with a sharp knife.
- Place the cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes or until set (don't brown). Let stand on baking sheets 2 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.