Holiday Pinwheel Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Let cookie dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. On a floured surface, knead cookie dough and enough flour to make dough easy to handle., Divide dough in half. Roll one portion on a sheet of waxed paper into a 12x7-in. rectangle. Sprinkle with red sugar. Using waxed paper, roll up tightly jelly-roll style, starting with a short side, removing paper as you roll. Wrap in plastic. Repeat with remaining dough and green sugar. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm., Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. To one portion, add peppermint extract and food coloring. Wrap each portion in plastic; refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm., On a baking sheet, roll out each portion between two sheets of waxed paper into a 14x9-in. rectangle. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove waxed paper. Place plain rectangle over green rectangle. Roll up tightly jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm., Preheat oven to 350°; unwrap dough and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake until set, 10-12 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Steps:

• Cut cookie dough in half. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the flour onto work surface. Roll out half of dough to 12x7-inch rectangle. Repeat with remaining half of dough and 1/4 cup flour. Sprinkle 1 rectangle evenly with red sugar; sprinkle green sugar evenly over second rectangle.
• Starting with shortest side, roll up each rectangle jelly-roll fashion. Wrap rolls in waxed paper; refrigerate at least 1 hour for easier handling.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut each roll into 16 slices. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 1 inch apart. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Steps:

• Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a bowl. Resift again into another bowl.
• Beat the butter with the brown and white sugars in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until evenly blended. Gather the dough into a ball, and divide into two equal parts. Place one half in a second bowl. Add red food coloring to the dough in one bowl, and green food coloring to the dough in the other bowl. Use a fork or wooden spoon to blend the food coloring into the dough until evenly blended. Add additional drops of food coloring to make the desired shade.
• Roll out the red dough to 1/4 inch (5mm) thickness. Roll out the green dough to 1/4 inch (5mm) thickness, and place on top of the red dough. Beginning on one edge, roll the doughs to make a log so the two colors spiral inside each other. Wrap the log in waxed paper, then in a cotton towel, and refrigerate at least 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.
• Unwrap the dough log, and place on a clean, lightly floured surface. Slice the log into rounds 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick, and place on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven until set, 5 to 6 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent edges from browning. Remove from oven, and cool on racks.

Steps:

• Filling: Mix dates water and sugar in saucepan bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until thickened and soft. Mix in 1 cup chopped nuts. (optional) Cool.
• Dough: In a food proscessor; Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs, process untill smooth and creamy.
• Sift flour, soda and salt. Add to sugar mixture in 3 batches, beat well between. Mix well, this dough will seem dry at first, knead it and it will soften.
• Divide into 3 equal parts. Cover to keep from drying out. Roll dough out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Try to make a neat rectangle. 8"X10" about ¼ " thick. Spread 1/3 of the filling onto the dough, edge to edge. Grab one side of the long end of the paper and lift to start the roll. Roll up the dough and wrap the roll in the paper you just used. Place on a cookie sheet to hold flat. Repeat with the rest of the dough/filling. Freeze. (Once they are frozen you can reclaim your cookie sheet)
• When you are ready to bake the cookies, remove 1 roll from the freezer at a time. This is a very soft cookie. You'll want to work fast. Slice frozen cookies 1/4 inch thick (they may or may not be round). Place on parchment covered cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.
• Bake at 400* for 12 minutes. Watch closely, do not over bake. They should be light golden brown. Allow to cool before removing from paper and storing. Store in a tightly closed container in layers divided with waxed paper.