Pinwheel Cookies

When you want something that tastes great and looks a little fancy, pinwheel cookies are just the thing.  The basic pinwheel cookie is chocolate and vanilla, but you can change things a bit if you want.  Dark chocolate orange makes great colors for a Halloween treat and mint colored green works well for Christmas or Saint Patrick’s Day.

Pinwheel Cookies

Pinwheel Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup shortening or butter                                  1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar                                                             1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg                                                                         6 Tablespoons milk

3 teaspoons vanilla                                                4 Tablespoons cocoa powder

3 cups flour                                                              1 teaspoon milk

Instructions

Beat butter and sugar in large mixing bowl until thoroughly blended.  Add egg and vanilla.  Blend in baking powder, salt, 1 cup flour and 2 tablespoons milk.  Add another cup flour and 2 more tablespoons milk and mix in.  Add the last cup of flour and 2 tablespoons milk and mix until completely blended together.   Divide dough in half and move half to another bowl.  Add cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon milk to one part of the dough.  Blend thoroughly.  Cover both bowls and chill in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.  Divide each dough in half.  Roll half the white dough and half the chocolate dough on separate pieces of wax paper using a light dusting of flour to keep dough from sticking to wax paper and rolling pin.  Use the wax paper ends to pick up white dough and carefully turn it dough side down on top of the chocolate dough.  Carefully remove the wax paper from the top of the white dough.  Start from one end and roll dough.  Tuck in ends and wrap wax paper around it.  Repeat with other half of dough.  Put rolled dough in the refrigerator for several hours to a couple days.  Slice cookies off roll about 1/4 inch thick with sharp knife and bake on ungreased pan in 375 degree oven (190 degrees C) for 10 minutes.  Remove to cooling rack.

roll chocolate and white dough on separate pieces of wax paper

put the white dough on the chocolate dough and roll

cookie roll after slicing off some cookies

Dark Chocolate Orange Pinwheel Cookies make a great Halloween treat

For dark chocolate orange pinwheels use dark chocolate cocoa powder and add 1 teaspoon orange extract to the white dough.  Color white dough with food coloring.  If you don’t have orange food color use red and yellow to make orange.

Mint Green Pinwheel Cookies are great for Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day

For a special holiday treat – or if you just like mint – add 1/4 teaspoon mint extract to the white dough. For a festive green color add 1/2 teaspoon green food coloring, or however much makes it the shade of green you desire.

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