Description
Festive and colorful Christmas Pinwheel Cookies featuring layers of red, green, and white dough rolled together, coated in holiday sprinkles, and baked to a lightly golden finish. Perfect for holiday gatherings and gifting.
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 Decoration
- ½ teaspoon red food coloring
- ½ teaspoon green food coloring
- ½ cup holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare Dry Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside for later use.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a separate large mixing bowl, cream together the softened unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Beat in the egg and pure vanilla extract until fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
- Combine Dry and Wet Mixtures: Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until no streaks of flour remain and the dough comes together.
- Divide and Color Dough: Divide the dough into three equal portions. Add red food coloring to one portion, green food coloring to the second, and leave the last portion uncolored. Mix each until the color is uniform.
- Roll Dough Layers: On a lightly floured surface, roll each colored dough portion into a roughly 12 by 8 inch (30 by 20 cm) rectangle. Layer the dough rectangles with green on the bottom, then white, and red on top.
- Form the Pinwheel 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 evenly. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
- Chill: Place the wrapped dough log in the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours to firm up.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) or 160°C if using a fan oven. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Slice and Bake: Unwrap the chilled dough and slice into ¼ inch thick slices. Arrange the cookie slices cut side down on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly puffed and lightly golden on the edges. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through baking for even cooking.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Rotate cookies halfway through baking to ensure even cooking and browning.
- The yield is about 3-4 dozen cookies depending on how tightly the dough is rolled.
- Keep the dough chilled well before slicing to ensure the colors stay firm and distinct.
- Scraps or trimmings of dough can be baked separately and create beautiful mixed-color swirl cookies.
- Use room temperature ingredients for the best dough consistency.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 130 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 60 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
