Old Fashioned Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Old Fashioned Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Bright, festive Christmas Pinwheel Cookies made with red, green, and plain dough layered, rolled, and sliced into cheerful swirls. Soft, buttery, and subtly vanilla, these cookies are easy to make ahead and perfect for holiday parties, cookie exchanges, and Santa’s cookie plate. A fun, colorful Christmas cookie recipe everyone will love!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Recipe Type Christmas, Cookies, Holiday Baking

Skill Level Easy

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Chill Time 2

Total Time 2 25

Servings

Calories 288kcal

Author Angela G.

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup butter (1 stick) salted
1 ½ cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup cup milk
red food coloring to desired color
green food coloring to desired color

Instructions

Combine wet ingredients. Add butter and sugar to a large bowl and sugar and cream together with an electric mixer.
Mix in egg, vanilla and sour cream until smooth.
Combine dry ingredients. Add flour, baking powder and salt to a medium bowl or large measuring cup and whisk together.
Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add about half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low to combine.
Mix in milk then add remaining flour and mix, just until the flour disappears.
Divide and color dough. Divide cookie dough into three equal parts.
Add enough red food coloring to one part of the cookie dough until you achieve the color you want.
Add green food coloring to a second part of the dough until you achieve the color you want.
Leave the third part undyed.
Flatten each color dough into a thick disk then wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Roll out and layer dough. Remove one color of dough from the fridge.
Flour your flat, clean workspace (a large cutting board or counter). Roll out the first disk of dough into as close to a square as possible, about 10 x 10”. Make sure the dough is still moveable off the counter and not stuck.
Roll out the second disk of dough the same as the first. Lift the second layer of dough and place it rolled-side down on top of the first layer, brushing any extra flour off the surface of the second layer.
Roll out the third disk of dough and layer it in the same way, brushing away extra flour.
Once all 3 colors are stacked, roll them in one direction with your rolling pin to elongate to a 10x12 rectangle, pressing the layers together.
Roll and chill dough. Start from the longer 12” side and roll the dough tightly towards the other end of the dough, creating a swirled log of dough. Brush off any extra flour from the very bottom as you roll so it will stick as it’s being rolled.
Press the rolled dough so that it’s an even thickness.
Place dough roll in the freezer for about 30 minutes to make it easier to slice.
Preheat oven to 350°F and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Remove dough from freezer and cut slices with a sharp knife about ¼ “ thick.
Lay slices onto baking sheet with at least 1" between.
Bake for 9-11 minutes until just golden on the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to completely cool.

Notes

Be Prepared to make a great pinwheel cookie: Gather all your ingredients at once and allow them to come to room temperature. You won’t be preheating your oven right away, so you can wait to prep your cookie sheets.
Keep it tight: Keep your roll tight while you're rolling it so all the layers hold together. Make sure you remove as much of the flour used to help roll out the dough so the layers stick together.
Check the bottom: Check the bottoms of your cookies to see if it is golden brown. That will help you tell if they are baked. If it’s still blonde, add a minute or two longer to the bake.
Allow Cookies to Cool: Make sure you cool the cookies completely before you move them around so they don’t break apart.

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