Description
Festive and visually stunning cookies with a tangy cream cheese dough and vibrant red and white swirls, perfect for the holiday season.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
- 8 oz (225g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Red gel food coloring
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Make the dough (10 minutes): In a large bowl, cream the softened butter, cream cheese, and sugar together until light and fluffy—about 2 minutes with a hand mixer. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add dry ingredients (3 minutes): In another bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined. Don’t overmix!
- Divide and color the dough (5 minutes): Split the dough into two equal portions. Leave one portion plain, and mix red gel food coloring into the other portion until you achieve a vibrant red. Wrap each portion separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Roll and layer (15 minutes): Roll out each dough portion between two sheets of parchment paper into rectangles about ¼ inch thick. Remove the top layer of parchment paper, and carefully stack the red dough on top of the plain dough.
- Roll into a log (5 minutes): Starting at one end, tightly roll the stacked dough into a log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight for best results.
- Slice and bake (12–15 minutes): Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice the chilled dough log into ¼-inch thick pinwheels and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the edges are just turning golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
[‘Chilling the dough is essential to maintain the pinwheel shape and make slicing easier.’, ‘Use gel food coloring for vibrant colors without altering the dough texture.’, ‘If the pinwheels look uneven after slicing, gently reshape them with your fingers before baking.’]
- Prep Time: 33 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 120
- Fat: 6
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Protein: 2
Keywords: Poinsettia Pinwheel Cookies, Holiday Cookies, Cream Cheese Dough, Christmas Cookies, Festive Cookies