Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

The best, colorful, easy, old fashioned pinwheel cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Perfectly crispy sugar cookies for Christmas holidays.

Cookie trays are a wonderful homemade gift for family and friends and they are always packed with classic cookies like today's recipe, Spritz Cookies and Jam Thumbprint Cookies.

There are endless possibilities for colors with these fun cookies. Also, for something that looks so cool and impressive, they are actually surprisingly easy to make.

How to make pinwheel cookies recipe?

1. Prepare dough- Use a cut out sugar cookie dough recipe
2. Divide the dough- Split them into 2 equal portions and mix in food coloring to each portion.
3. Flatten dough- Use a rolling pin to roll out the cookie dough flat between two sheets of wax paper.
4. Stack dough- Place flattened doughs on top of each other.
5. Roll dough- Roll the stack from one end to the other end, similar to a Swiss roll cake.
6. Add sprinkles- Toss sprinkles all over the cookie roll and along the sides and roll it back and forth until sprinkles stick on. 
7. Chill- Place it in the fridge until firm.
8. Cut slices- Make sure they are all even.
9. Bake- This should take about 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F.
10. Enjoy- Let them cool at room temperature and dig in!

Variations

Date pinwheel cookies- Add a layer of chopped up dates between the cookie layers.

Chocolate pinwheel cookies- Add cocoa powder to the outer dough layers

Add coconut- Roll cookie dough roll in desiccated coconut or finely shredded coconut

Add sprinkles/ funfetti-- Roll cookie dough roll in sprinkles. Match the sprinkles to the holidays. E.g. Holiday sprinkles for Christmas, spooky sprinkles for Halloween and so on.

Add zests- Such as lemon, lime or orange zests to give these cookies a citrus flavor.

Add other extracts- Instead of vanilla, use any other extract you like. Almond and peppermint are very popular choices for the holidays.

Add jam- Spread jam between the layers. Use any flavor you like: grape, strawberry, apricot, or raspberry e.t.c.

Add cinnamon- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture between the cookie layers, similar to a cinnamon roll.

Drizzle them- Once the cookies cool completely, drizzle melted white chocolate or vanilla glaze over them.

Tips and Techniques

Chill cookie dough roll- This step is very important and cannot be skipped. It allows you to cut sharp, even slices plus it holds the layers together.

Use sharp knife- Because this allows you to get clean, even slices.

Use gel coloring- This is a better alternative to liquid food coloring because it won't make dough wet and sticky.

Don't cut thick slices- If they are too thick, they won't bake well.

How to fix crumbly cookie dough? Add a little water or milk to bring the dough together.

How to fix wet sticky dough?- Chill it until it becomes firm and easier to handle. Don't add extra flour because that will change the texture of the cookies.

Don’t over mix dough– That’s because this makes very tough cookies.

How to know when cookies are done baking? They are done when they are firm along the edges and slightly soft in the center. They will also continue to cook as they are cooling in the cookie trays.

Add more layers of colors- I only did two colors/ two layers but you can add as many as you like. Rainbow cookies are beautiful.

More Christmas Cookies

• Easy Stained Glass Cookies
• Easy Cut Out Funfetti Cookies
• Gooey Butter Cookies (With Cake Mix)
• Iced Oatmeal Cookies
• Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (With Cake Mix)

Recipe

Until next time, tata my lovelies!