Description
Celebrate the holiday season with these festive Christmas Pinwheel Sugar Cookies. Soft, buttery, and beautifully swirled with red, green, and classic sugar dough, these cookies are both visually stunning and delightfully tasty. Perfect for sharing at holiday gatherings or gifting to friends and family.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Coloring
- 1/4 cup red food coloring
- 1/4 cup green food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to ensure it reaches the perfect temperature by the time your cookie dough is ready.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened unsalted butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, which helps create a tender cookie texture.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract into the butter-sugar mixture until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt to ensure even distribution of leavening and seasoning.
- Form Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until a smooth dough forms without overworking it.
- Divide Dough: Split the dough evenly into three parts to prepare for coloring and layering.
- Color Dough: Add red food coloring to one portion and green food coloring to another. Leave the third portion plain to create the traditional sugar cookie color.
- Roll Out Dough: Roll each colored dough portion between sheets of wax paper into even rectangles to ensure consistent thickness.
- Layer and Roll: Layer the rolled dough rectangles on top of each other carefully, then roll the stacked layers tightly into a log shape to create the pinwheel effect.
- Chill Dough Log: Refrigerate the rolled dough log for at least one hour to firm it up, making it easier to slice thinly and maintain shape during baking.
- Slice Cookies: Cut the chilled dough log into 1/4-inch thick rounds and place them with some space on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden but the centers remain soft.
- Cool: Allow cookies to cool on a wire rack before serving to ensure they set properly and hold their shape.
Notes
- Use gel food coloring for more vibrant colors without altering dough texture.
- Do not over-bake to keep cookies soft and tender.
- For easier rolling, chill dough portions briefly before rolling out.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- These cookies can be frozen after slicing and baked directly from frozen with a minute or two added to baking time.
