Sugar Cookie Pinwheel Cookies
Easter is this weekend which means it is time to make some yummy treats for all those family get-togethers. I’m in charge of bringing cookies to the in-laws this year so I think this may be the perfect Happy Spring-would-it-please-stop-snowing-in-Chicago treat! I made these last month during spring break and they were a hit. The best things about these cookies are that they are super easy to make and you can make them whatever color you want. I chose pink with pink and purple sprinkles because that is what I had on hand at the time. Does grandma love lavender? Make purple cookies. Do your boys swear by blue? They look just as cute that way too!
Basically, all this recipe entails is a good sugar cookie recipe, some food coloring, sprinkles and a fun way to roll it all up.
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Red food coloring
Sprinkles
PREPARATION:
First, we start with making a basic (but delicious sugar cookie dough). In a medium bowl, combine together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between after each one, then add the vanilla.
Add the flour and then beat just until combined. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and separate it into two equal pieces. Shape one piece of the dough into an 8-inch square, wrap it securely in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. If you don’t do this, the dough will be harder to work with and may be too sticky.
Return the remaining piece of dough to the mixer bowl, and with the mixer on “low,” add in the food coloring (whatever colors you like!), drop by drop, until it reaches the color you are looking for. Remove the colored dough, shape it into a large rectangle about 1/8-inch thick, wrap it securely in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the fridge and carefully place the white dough on top of the colored dough.
To add extra sparkle, I sprinkled the top of the dough with extra pink sprinkles. This is not necessary but the kids love doing it!
Starting at the shorter end of the rectangle, roll the dough as tightly as possible into a log.
Unwrap the dough logs and place the sprinkles in a large, shallow pan or dish. Gently roll the dough logs in the sprinkles until they are completely coated. We couldn’t decide between pink or purple sprinkles so we used both! You can cut and bake them immediately or return them to the fridge until ready to bake.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and slice each log into 1/4-inch rounds.
Place the rounds about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets because the cookies will expand when baked.
Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes until golden, and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. That’s it! Easy-peasy and it looks like it took a lot of work to your guests! 🙂