📋 Christmas Almond Pinwheel Cookie Recipe

4 Christmas pinwheel cookies on a white plate with 3 cookies in a ribbon in the background

5 from 5 votes

📋 Christmas Almond Pinwheel Cookie Recipe

This Pinwheel Christmas Cookie recipe is the ultimate Christmas Cookie! With the festive red, white and green swirls and a unique almond flavor, these Christmas Pinwheel cookies make a great addition to your holiday baking platter, a cookie swap or an edible Christmas gift!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Canadian

Keyword christmas, cookie, pinwheel, swirl

Special Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 14

chilling 2 30

Total Time 3 45

Servings cookies

Calories 109kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Ingredients

¾ cup unsalted butter softened
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 egg
⅓ cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg white
¼ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 pkg ground almonds 100 g
½ teaspoon red food coloring
½ teaspoon green food coloring

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heads up: there are 2 chilling times involved in this recipe - for a total of about 3 hours
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed (until pale and creamy). Beat in whole egg. Scrape down sides of bowl.
Beat in milk, extracts, salt and ground almonds.
Gradually add in flour until a soft dough forms. *You many need to add in the final addition of flour by hand.
Divide dough into 3 equal portions, each in its own bowl. Leave one ball of dough plain white and tint one with green food coloring and the other with red food coloring. Mix in food color thoroughly so there are no streaks. Cover each dough with plastic wrap and and chill until firm and no longer sticky (about 45 minutes)
Cut 3 pieces of parchment paper at least 10 x12 inches (25x30 cm) in size. Using a floured rolling pin, roll each dough into a 7x9 inch (18x23 cm) rectangle, approximately ⅛ inch (3mm) thick on its own piece of parchment paper. Patch edges as required to attain size. Chill dough, still on parchment paper (on baking sheet) until firm).
In a small bowl, beat egg white with a fork. To layer, place red layer of dough (still on parchment paper), on work surface and brush with egg white. Lining up the edges, invert white dough onto red one and peel off parchment from plain dough. Brush with egg white and invert green dough on top again, peeling away parchment.
Use a sharp knife to trim edges, wiping blade clean between cuts to keep colors distinct.
Place long side of dough nearest to you and tightly roll up into a log, smoothing and straightening it as you roll (lifting the parchment to help release the dough) Gently press edge of log together to seal. If the log is thicker than 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, gently use your hands to roll it and lengthen it.
Wrap log in plastic wrap and chill until firm, approximately 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ (180 degrees C). Slice log into ¼ inch (5 mm) thick rounds, wiping blade clean between cuts. Set about ½ inch ( 1.25 cm) apart on 2 parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until firm to the touch, but not browned. Allow to cool for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool for an additional 5 minutes.

Notes

🌡️Storing

You can store these Christmas Swirl Cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 4 days. However, they freeze very well, so I usually pop them into the freezer right away. You can freeze these cookies for up to 3 months.

Recipe Tips

Do not skip chilling time! There is about 3 hours of chilling time in total, but it's worth it. Don't be tempted to cut back or your dough will be hard to work with, your cookies will likely spread and the colors will spread into each other.

Use your mixer to blend in your food coloring. It's easier than kneading with your hands and you don't stain your hands!

Ensure you roll the log up firmly. If the log is rolled too loosely, the colors will separate from each other in the oven.

Use a sharp knife. Use a sharp knife to cut cookies and trim edges. Wiping the blade clean between cuts will keep the colors separate.

Use gel food coloring. You can use less and get a deeper color. *I used Wilton Kelly green (affiliate link) and Americolor super red (affiliate links).

Nutrition