Pinwheel Christmas Cookies

December 11, 2012

Post by Renae Wortz of Mom Colored Glasses

Homemade Christmas cookies were a big deal in my house growing up. I spent many a December afternoon having flour fights with my sisters and licking frosting bowls until I got sick while we baked piles and piles of cookies. Over the years I have collected so many favorite cookie recipes it was difficult choosing which variety to make for this series! I finally decided to make pinwheel cookies because they’re yummy (duh!), pretty and I’ve actually never made them before…..I guess this was what my mom was doing while my sisters and I made cut-outs on the dining room table.

Pinwheels are rolled butter cookies flavored with cocoa or peppermint. They aren’t as easy as simple drop cookies but the extra effort is well worth it! Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and for a cute packaging idea using a homemade origami star box.

Recipe: Pinwheel Cookies

Ingredients

3 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups of softened butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. peppermint extract
Red food coloring

1. Mix butter, powdered sugar, eggs and salt until smooth and creamy.

2. Slowly add in the flour and mix until fully incorporated.

3. Divide dough in half and set one half aside.

4. Divide the remaining dough equally between two bowls.

5. Mix peppermint extract and red food coloring into one bowl; mix cocoa powder into the other bowl.

6. Form dough into three separate balls and refrigerate for at least one hour. (If you refrigerate it for longer than one hour, let the dough soften up on the counter for at least an hour for easier manipulation and to prevent crumbling)

7. Divide the plain dough in half and roll it and one of the flavored dough balls into a rectangle to about 1/4 inch thickness.

8. Carefully place the rolled-out flavored dough on top of the plain dough and trim the dough layers into a rectangle.

9. Slowly and carefully roll the long end of the dough layers in “jellyroll” fashion until you have formed a long log. Repeat with the remaining dough.

10. Wrap both dough logs in plastic wrap and then foil and freeze for at least 8 hours.

11. Remove the dough logs from the freezer, unwrap and slice into 1/4 inch rounds with a sharp knife.

12. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen peppermint pinwheels and 2 dozen cocoa pinwheels.

Origami Star Box

I followed the instructions for making this box at www.origami-instructions.com and used 12 x 12 inch cardstock paper. It is easier than it looks! We featured several homemade ornament ideas last year, two of which are featured in my gift box above, beeswax cut out ornaments and cinnamon “cookie” ornaments. Everyone loves the charm, thoughtfulness and tastiness of a homemade gift!

Enjoy! And Merry Christmas!

Post by Renae Wortz of Mom Colored Glasses