Can you say "show-stopper Christmas cookie"? Bring these Christmas pinwheel cookies along to your next holiday gathering, and watch the jaws drop.
Now, I'm not saying that we bake for the accolades, but isn't it nice to be appreciated? I have been wanting to try my hand at making a festive swirled cookie for a while now. In the past, I made a rainbow cookie and a more simple Christmas ornament cookie. I knew this year I wanted to challenge myself with the Christmas pinwheel cookie.
I'm not going to lie, these cookies take time and patience. In the end you will have created a beautiful, one-of-a-kind cookie that is as delicious as it is beautiful. Let the kids help out and watch their amazement as you slice into the cookie dough roll to reveal swirling cookies.
Seriously, so...much...fun.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp festive Christmas sprinkles...sugar sprinkles, not chocolate
food coloring
Directions
In an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and light.
Beat in egg yolks, one at a time.
Add vanilla.
In a small mixing bowl whisk together flour and salt.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, in two batches, until dough forms. The dough will pull away from the sides of the electric mixer's bowl when it is done.
Divide dough in half and shape into disks.
With a toothpick, add red food colouring to one half and green food colouring to the other half. Knead the dough until the colouring is evenly distributed in the dough. The colour will get darker when the cookie is baked....don't worry if the red dough looks a little pink.
Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes...to slightly soften.
Place a disk of dough on a sheet of waxed paper...this is a must...trust me, you need to use waxed paper.
Place a second piece of waxed paper over top of the disk of dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness.
Set aside and repeat with the second disk.
Once both red and green doughs are rolled out it is time to combine the doughs.
Peel the top sheet of waxed paper off each sheet of dough. Carefully, flip one dough over top of the other dough...the dough should be stuck to the waxed paper...this is why you need the waxed paper.
Once the sheets of dough are on top of each other, gently press the roller across the top of the waxed paper, gently pressing the two sheets together.
Peel the top piece of waxed paper off.
With a sharp knife, trim off the jagged edges of the dough, make a clean edged square or rectangle.
Using the bottom piece of waxed paper to help, begin tightly rolling the dough away from your body. Much like rolling sushi - if you have ever done that before. 
Continue rolling and pulling off the waxed paper as you roll, until you reach the end of the dough. You will now have a cookie dough log.
Use your hands to gentle press and roll the log of dough...making sure the dough is tightly packed.
Roll the cookie dough log through a pile of festive sprinkles. Press the sprinkles into the dough.
Tightly wrap the cookie dough log in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 24 hours. The dough can be left in the freezer for up to a month.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F and remove the dough from the freezer and let the dough sit on the counter for 10 minutes.
With a sharp knife, cut the dough log into 1/4" disks.
If there are any air gaps, or if the dough has crumbled as a result of being sliced, use your warm hands to press the dough back together.
Bake the cookies, on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden on the bottom.
Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.
Enjoy.
What the kids can do: Pass the recipe to the kids and let them do all the reading and measuring. I would suggest an adult adds the food colouring to the dough, this can get pretty messy if left to the kids. While mom or dad can roll the dough into a log, let the kids roll the log through the sprinkles. Make sure the kids are close on hand when it's time to slice the dough. The swirly cookies that appear are seriously magical.
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