by Pinwheel Cookies
If you’re looking for a fun cookie to make this Christmas, these Pinwheel Cookies will tick the box! Similar to Checkerboard Cookies, you get the perfect ratio of vanilla to chocolate in every cookie.
Pinwheel Cookies Recipe
This recipe for Pinwheel Cookies is the same recipe which I use to make Checkerboard Cookies, and which is also a variation of my French Sablé Cookies. Sablé cookies are French shortbread biscuits, so these cookies are nice and buttery, with just the right amount of sweetness.
On the scale of complexity, I would say that these cookies are a bit more difficult to make than the Checkerboard Cookies, but they are still easy! I have a few tips and tricks in the recipe to make sure they turn out perfectly every time ????
Christmas Cookie Box
If you like to make a variety of different cookies at Christmas time, whether for yourself or to give as gifts, it’s handy to know that, from one recipe, you can create a variety of delicious biscuits, just by altering some of the flavours or by changing the shape of the dough. If you start with my recipe for French Sablé Cookies, you can also make Checkerboard Cookies, as well as these Pinwheel Cookies!
How to Make Pinwheel Cookies
To make Pinwheel Cookies, you need to make a Vanilla Cookie Dough and a Chocolate Cookie Dough. Each dough is rolled out to the same size and shape. Place one dough on top of the other, and then simply roll into a tight log. When you slice the cookie rounds, you will see the fun pinwheel pattern.
Step 1
Cream the butter, salt and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Step 2
Add the egg yolks, and continue mixing until everything is well combined.
Step 3
Divide the butter mixture into 2 mixing bowls. To do this evenly, weigh the full mixture in a clean bowl, and then divide this number by 2.
To make the Vanilla Cookie Dough, place half of the butter mixture into a mixing bowl, and add the dry ingredients. Mix until everything is combined and the mixture resembles crumbly wet sand. Add enough cold water until the mixture comes together in a soft dough.
Step 4
Transfer the dough to the kitchen bench and knead gently to produce a soft dough with no air pockets.
Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until you have a rectangle measuring about 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inches), and about 5 mm thick. To do this, slice off excess strips of dough and place them where necessary to achieve the rectangle shape. If you are using levelling strips, this makes the task even easier because any transferred dough should be the same thickness. Simply use a rolling pin to gently roll the seams together.
Place the sheet of Vanilla Cookie Dough in the fridge to chill while you prepare the Chocolate Cookie Dough.
Step 5 & 6
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to make the Chocolate Cookie Dough. I recommend starting with vanilla so that you don’t need to clean the bowl 😉
One tip for the Chocolate Cookie Dough is that it will tend to be drier in texture than the vanilla dough, due to the cocoa powder. So make sure you use enough liquid to form a soft and smooth dough.
Once you have rolled out the Chocolate Cookie Dough into a rectangle shape, also measuring about 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inches), place it into the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes, so that it is easier to handle.
Step 7
Take both sheets of cookie dough out of the fridge.
Place the Vanilla Cookie Dough on your work surface, and carefully transfer the Chocolate Cookie Dough on top. If necessary, you can drape the Chocolate Cookie Dough over a rolling pin, and transfer it carefully over the Vanilla Cookie Dough.
Trim all of the edges so that both the Vanilla Cookie Dough and Chocolate Cookie Dough are aligned with clean edges.
Allow the dough to come to room temperature so that it will be soft and pliable for rolling in the next step. If the dough is too cold, it will be difficult to roll, and it may also crack. If that happens, simply try to unroll the dough and smooth out any cracks with a sprinkle of water.
Step 8
Place the dough with the long edge in front of you. Use the baking paper to help you lift and roll the dough into a log, making sure you roll tightly and firmly.
I find the first roll to be the hardest as you want to curl the edge nicely in the centre of the log. This is easiest when the dough is soft.
Once all of the dough has been rolled into a log, use the baking paper to smooth the surface and to help you blend the outside edge into the cookie dough.
Wrap the cookie dough log in the baking paper, and let it chill in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
Step 9
Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Unwrap the cookie dough log. Use a sharp knife to slice rounds from the log, about 1 cm in thickness, or however thick you prefer.
Arrange the cookie dough slices on the lined baking tray, spacing them apart.
Place the baking tray in the fridge to allow the cookie dough to chill for about 30 minutes.
Step 10
Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F (without fan).
Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the hot baking tray, before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips for Making Checkerboard Cookies
- Use a ruler. If precision is important to you, you will want to measure your rolled-out cookie dough so that each flavour is the same size. I recommend keeping a metal ruler in the kitchen for your baking activities.
- Use levelling strips. Similar to a ruler, levelling strips helps you to roll the dough evenly. They come in a variety of sizes, and are available in acrylic or wood.
- Avoid a dry dough. A dry dough will produce cracks once you roll it, making it hard to work with. In particular, the chocolate dough will be more dry than the vanilla dough due to the cocoa powder, so make sure you add enough water to bring everything together into a soft, smooth dough. Once you have done the initial kneading, if the dough crumbles a little or you see cracks, sprinkle some water on the dough and lightly knead it again.
- Chill the dough. To make it easy to transfer the chocolate dough on top of the vanilla dough, I recommend chilling it in the fridge for about 15 minutes to make it easier to handle. However, for rolling the two dough flavours together to create the pinwheel pattern, you will need to allow the dough to come back to room temperature so it is pliable again.
Pinwheel Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough Base
- 200 g (2 sticks minus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 g (½ teaspoon) fine salt
- 100 g (¾ cup) icing sugar, (powdered sugar)
- 2 egg yolks
For the Vanilla Cookie Dough
- ½ of the Cookie Dough Base
- 200 g (1 ⅓ cup) plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ to 1 tablespoon cold water
For the Chocolate Cookie Dough
- ½ of the Cookie Dough Base
- 200 g (1 ⅓ cup) plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
- 10 g (2 tablespoons) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ to 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
To Make the Cookie Dough Base
- Place the butter, salt and icing sugar (powdered sugar) into a large bowl.
- Cream the ingredients together until the mixture is light and fluffy. If you are using an electric stand mixer, use the flat-paddle attachment.
- Add the egg yolks.
- Beat to combine well.
- Weigh the mixture in a clean bowl.
- Halve the mixture into separate mixing bowls.
To Make the Vanilla Cookie Dough
- Place one half of the Cookie Dough Base into the mixing bowl.
- Add the additional ingredients for Vanilla Cookie Dough.
- Beat the mixture together until the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Add just enough water to bring the mixture together into a soft dough.
- Remove the mixture to the kitchen bench.
- Knead the dough lightly so that all of the ingredients are well-combined and there are no air-pockets in the dough.
- Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until you have a rectangular shape measuring about 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inches), and about 5 mm thick. To achieve this shape, cut off excess strips of pastry and join them where necessary to build a rectangle.
- Place the Vanilla Cookie Dough to chill in the fridge while you prepare the Chocolate Cookie Dough.
To Make the Chocolate Cookie Dough
- Repeat the same steps as for the Vanilla Cookie Dough.
- The Chocolate Cookie Dough will likely need more water as the cocoa powder will make the dough more dry.
- Place the Chocolate Cookie Dough in the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes.
To Shape the Pinwheel Cookies
- Remove both pieces of dough from the fridge.
- Place the Chocolate Cookie Dough on top of the Vanilla Cookie Dough. Keep the baking paper underneath the Vanilla Cookie Dough.
- The next step requires the dough to be soft and pliable for rolling, so you will need to allow the dough to come to room temperature before continuing. If you try to roll the dough when it is too cold, it will be difficult to roll and it may also crack.
- Once the dough is soft and easy to handle, use the baking paper underneath the Vanilla Cookie Dough to lift up both pieces of dough.
- Start rolling the cookie dough into a tight log. Use the baking paper to firmly roll the dough, making sure there are no gaps in the layers.
- Once all of the dough has been rolled into a log, gently press the edges into the side of log so that you have a nice, round log.
- Roll the cookie dough log in the baking paper.
- Place the cookie dough log in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to chill.
To Slice the Pinwheel Cookies
- Place a sheet of baking paper on a large baking tray.
- If you want even-sized cookies, use a ruler to mark the width of each cookie (about 1 cm thick). Otherwise, you can eye-ball it and cut as you please.
- Use a sharp knife to slice the cookie dough.
- Arrange the cookie slices on the baking tray. The cookies do not spread very much upon baking, but space them apart to allow them to bake evenly.
- Place the tray of cookies into the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes.
To Bake the Pinwheel Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F (without fan).
- Preheat a metal tray on the middle shelf in the oven.
- Place the tray of cookies on the preheated metal tray.
- Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden.
- Remove the tray from the oven.
- Leave the cookies on the hot tray for about 5-10 minutes to firm up.
- Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Kitchen Notes
- OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Excellent recipe with great instructions! The cookies tasted great. We’ll be making more of these for Christmas.
Hi Daniel,
That’s great to hear!