Pin Wheel Cookies

These pin wheel cookies with a swirly pattern are very pretty and is a perfect treat for a holiday cookie basket. They are very versatile and can be made in your favorite colors to go with your holiday theme.

We made these cookies as a Valentine’s day treat for kids. They were so thrilled to see how these pink and cream swirls are made on the cookies. I colored a half of the dough red, rolled the dough to a log and cut out cookies to make Valentine special pin wheel cookies. These cookies are very crispy and the spiral pattern makes it extra special. The best moment in making these cookies is cutting the cookies out of the rolled dough. Seeing those beautiful swirls is of course a treat to eyes😍 If you want to bake it for Christmas, color one half of dough deep red and the other half green to make pretty red and green swirls.

Pinwheel cookies are very tasty and is perfect for snacking. This cookie dough needs to be refrigerated before cutting out the cookies. Though this makes it a little lengthy process, it has the advantage of making the dough ahead and cut the cookies as you need it. You can take the rolled dough out of the refrigerator, cut cookies and go ahead baking it. This way you can save time and bake as you need it.

By the way have you noticed the new look of BYG. We are undergoing some changes to give you a better reading experience and we hope you all like it☺ I will try my best to include more delicious food stories from our home for my dear readers. Do let me know your feedback and suggestions in comments…

Do check the Notes section for more tips on making these Valentines day special pin wheel cookies. Happy baking…

Ingredients: (Makes about 16 to 20 cookies)

1. All purpose flour 1¼ cup +2 tbsp.(195gm)
2. Unsalted butter softened to room temperature 1/2 cup(113 gm)
3. Egg at room temperature 1
4. Granulated sugar 1/2 cup +1 tbsp.(112 gm)
5. Baking powder 1/4 tsp.
6. Salt 1/8 tsp.
7. Pure vanilla extract 1.5 tsp.
8. Red food coloring 8 to 10 drops(I used McCormick brand liquid food coloring)

Method:

1. In a small bowl, whisk all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Dry ingredients is ready.

2. Cream softened butter and sugar using a hand mixer on medium to high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until the butter is light in color and sugar is dissolved. Scrape down the sides in between.

3. Add egg and beat on medium speed until combined.

4. Add vanilla extract and beat well.

5. Add the dry ingredients in two additions and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides as needed.

6. Divide dough in to two equal portions.

7. Add red food coloring to one half portion and beat on medium speed to colour it red.

8. Smooth colored and uncoloured dough in to two smooth balls. Place the uncoloured dough ball on a parchment paper and place another parchment paper on top of it.(This makes the rolling process more easier). Now using a roller pin, roll the uncoloured dough in to a rectangle of 1/8 inch thickness. Peel the parchment paper on top. Now repeat the same process for rolling the coloured dough too.

9. Refrigerate the rolled out dough in refrigerator for at least half an hour. This will help the dough sheets to be slightly firm that makes it easier to work with in the next step.

9. Carefully flip the red colored dough with the parchment paper and place it on top of the uncolored dough and slightly press on the top with your hands so that any gaps between the two dough sheets are eliminated.

10. Now carefully peel off the parchment paper on top. Trim the edges if there is any irregular sides.
11. Now carefully roll the dough from one long side towards the other long side to form a log. Make sure to form a tight roll without leaving a hole inside.
    

12. Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight so that the dough firms up a bit before you cut the cookies out of it. This step is crucial to cut out perfect cookies without deforming the spiral shape.
13. Preheat oven to 325 degree Fahrenheit 10 minutes before baking. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
14. Once the rolled dough is firm, cut cookies of 1/4 inch thickness using a knife. (You can slightly rub the surface of the cookie with your hands to shape the cookie round or to cover any gaps on the swirls.) Place it in a prepared cookie sheet with a spacing of about one inch between the cookies.

15. Bake cookies for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges starts to slightly brown. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack for further cooling.

Notes:

1. If you find the dough very sticky while rolling, pop it in to refrigerator for half an hour and roll it.
2. To keep the baked cookies fresh, store it in an airtight container.
3. Before cutting out the cookies from the dough, let the rolled dough stay in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to make it firm. I refrigerated overnight. This also helps to retain the shape of the cookie while baking.
4. I got about 20 mini cookies(about 2 inch diameter) with the above quantity.