Cherry Pinwheel Cookies
Submitted by mcarini
Buttery slice-and-bake pinwheel cookies swirled with cherry preserves and scented with vanilla and almond extract. Roll, freeze, slice, and bake to golden perfection.
There’s something deeply satisfying about slicing through a frozen log of cookie dough and seeing that spiral of ruby-red cherry preserves inside.
These pinwheels start with a tender butter cookie dough flavored with both vanilla and almond extract, rolled out into a rectangle and spread edge-to-edge with cherry preserves.
Roll it up jelly-roll style, freeze until solid, then slice into thin rounds and bake until the edges turn golden.
The make-ahead factor is huge here: the frozen dough log keeps for weeks, so you can slice off fresh cookies whenever the craving hits.
Chef Tips
- Leave a half-inch border when spreading the preserves to prevent oozing during rolling
- Freeze the log for a full 2 hours; soft dough squishes instead of slicing cleanly
- Use a sharp, thin knife and a gentle sawing motion for the neatest rounds
- Rotate the log a quarter turn after every few slices to keep the round shape from flattening
Ingredients
Directions
Mix together flour baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl beat together egg and sugar.
In a large mixing bowl at medium speed, mix until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg mixture, vanilla and almond extracts, until well blended.
Turn mixer to low speed and beat in dry ingredients into wet ingredients, just until combined.
On a lightly floured piece of waxed paper roll out dough into a rectangle, about 9×12 inches.
Place dough on a cookie sheet.
Cover and chill until firm, about 15 minutes. Uncover dough and spread the cherry preserves, evenly over the dough, leaving a ½ inch border.
Starting from the shorter side, roll up the dough in a jelly-roll fashion.
When done, wrap the roll in plastic wrap and freeze for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Spray 2 cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray.
Unwrap frozen cookie dough and slice into ¼ inch thick pieces.
Place onto cookie sheets.
Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Cool the cookie sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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