🎄 Christmas Pinwheels: Colorful Holiday Sugar Cookies
Made by rolling two colors of dough together, Christmas pinwheels are colorful holiday sugar cookies, rolled in sweet sprinkles for an extra crunch. The mesmerizing treats are an easy must-make recipe for sugar cookie fans.
Perfect for the Christmas season, take these pinwheels to a cookie swap, serve them at a holiday party, or bake a batch for Santa. You can freeze the uncooked log of cookie dough for up to a month before slicing and baking these striking cookies.
🍪 Christmas Pinwheels Ingredients
Sugar – granulated sugar
Butter – salted butter softened
Vanilla extract
Almond extract
Baking powder
Egg
Flour – all-purpose flour
Food coloring – red liquid food coloring
Coloring & Crunch Tips: You can easily switch the food coloring to a different color to create different patterns for your pinwheel cookies. Use green instead of red, or make cookies with both green and red swirls. You could also use blue to make a wintry theme cookie. Another way to add color, and a bit of crunch, to these cookies, is by adding sprinkles. Roll the cookie dough log in sprinkles before slicing and baking.
These slice and bake cookies are perfect for the holidays because you can make the pinwheel dough in advance and leave it chilling in the fridge or freeze it for up to a month. These cookies taste best if they are not overcooked, so watch them carefully while they are baking.
👩🍳 How to Make Christmas Pinwheels
Dough Preparation
FIRST STEP: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. Beat the ingredients on medium until creamy, about 2 minutes.
SECOND STEP: Use a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and continue mixing until combined.
THIRD STEP: Add the flour and baking powder and mix together on the low setting until no streaks of flour are visible.
FOURTH STEP: Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Divide dough in half and remove 1/2 of it to a piece of parchment paper. Add the food coloring and almond extract to the remaining dough in the stand mixer bowl and mix together on low speed until the color is uniform.
FIFTH STEP: Divide each half in half so that you have 2 red and 2 dough-colored pieces. Form each piece into its own separate rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Assembling the Pinwheels
SIXTH STEP: After the dough is finished chilling, remove one piece of dough and roll it out on a piece of parchment paper until it is roughly an rectangle. Repeat with all pieces of dough. Trim the edges with a knife so you have straight lines.
SEVENTH STEP: Once all 4 pieces of dough are rolled out, carefully place one red piece on top of the dough colored piece. On the other two pieces, place the red on the bottom.
EIGHTH STEP: Carefully roll each rectangle into a log. Wrap in plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for an additional 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
Baking Instructions
NINTH STEP: When ready to bake these cookies, preheat the oven to . Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
TENTH STEP: Remove 1 log from the refrigerator and carefully slice to inch thick cookies, depending on how thick you want them.
ELEVENTH STEP: Space cookies about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the cookies are barely starting to brown on the edges. These cookies taste best if they are not overcooked so watch them carefully.
TWELFTH STEP: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
THIRTEENTH STEP: Repeat steps to finish cooking the remaining log of cookies.
❓ Christmas Pinwheels FAQ
Can I use a different color of food coloring?
Yes, you can easily switch the food coloring to a different color to create different patterns for your pinwheel cookies. Make green swirl cookies or combine red and green together. You could even use blue to make a wintry theme cookie.
What kind of sprinkles should I use?
Roll your pinwheel cookies in nonpareils before baking for some extra crunch and color. You could also use jimmies, sanding sugar, or any other kind of sprinkles.
Can I make pinwheel cookies in advance?
These slice and bake pinwheel cookies can be made in advance. Keep the dough chilling in the fridge or freeze it for up to a month.
📦 How to Store Christmas Pinwheels
IN THE FRIDGE: Store Christmas pinwheel cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookies can also be stored in the refrigerator.
IN THE FREEZER: Unbaked cookie dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in a freezer bag, and frozen for up to one month.
