Pinwheel Cookies with a Twist

I had 2 cookie exchanges that i attended for Christmas this 2011.  I wanted to make something different and not your usual cut out cookie recipe.  I found this recipe for Peppermint Pinwheels and liked the design, but not the peppermint.  I decided to try and change the flavor of these cookies.  I did 1 batch peppermint, 4 batches strawberry and 3 batches of pistachio.  These cookies came out great!  They are a bit time consuming but are well worth it!  For the one cookie exchange, I individually wrapped them in cellophane and tied them with a ribbon!

Peppermint Pinwheels

Yields 2 dozen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon red food coloring
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough
Special equipment: 24 lollipop sticks

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together in another large bowl. Add egg and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and peppermint extract. Gradually add the dry mixture, beating until combined. Remove half of the mixture from the bowl. Add food coloring, beating until fully combined. In waxed paper, roll out dough to form a large rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Repeat this step with the other half of uncolored dough with no food coloring. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Tear out 1 sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Sprinkle the surface of the paper with powdered sugar to prevent sticking. Very carefully, slide the red dough on top of the white dough. Trim edges if uneven and patch if necessary. Roll dough into a log, creating a swirl effect. Place the dough back in the refrigerator and let chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Slice the dough into 1/2-inch slices and place on a parchment lined sheet tray about 1-inch apart. Place lollipop stick about 1-inch through the flat side of the dough. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

I did a few things differently with this recipe.  Since i had so many cookies to make, i made the dough the night before and refrigerated it.  It was okay to do this except for the fact that the dough was very hard after being in the refrigerator.  I had to work the dough out of the container and knead it with my hands to soften it back up.  The dough was alright though after that. The second thing I did was I added strawberry flavoring instead of peppermint.  I used more than the recommended 1tsp because the strawberry flavoring is less potent than the peppermint.  Just so you know, strawberry flavoring is a pink color so dont plan to add it to the "white dough".  Use red food coloring with it.  I added green and red food coloring to the dough that i wanted those colors.  I wanted to make some of the cookies pistachio, so I added 1 box of pistachio instant pudding mix to the dough i wanted green.  I mixed it well and added a little milk as needed.  I then added the green food coloring. I separated the left over dough from the large roll and made small regular pinwheels to not waste any of the dough.

Overall, these cookies were great and fun to make!  Everyone loved them at the cookie exchanges I went to.  The pistachio ones turned out great and were my favorite!!  Enjoy!