Description
Halloween Pinwheel Cookies are festive, visually striking sugar cookies perfect for any Halloween party. Made by layering and rolling colored doughs into a spiral pattern, these cookies offer a fun twist on classic sugar cookies with vibrant orange and black swirls.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Food Coloring
- Orange gel food coloring (¼ teaspoon)
- Black gel food coloring (¼ teaspoon)
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt; set this dry mixture aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, use a mixer to beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Then add in the eggs and vanilla extract and beat again to combine thoroughly.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix gently just until no streaks of flour remain, avoiding overmixing.
- Divide and Color Dough: Split the dough evenly into two halves. Add ¼ teaspoon of orange gel food coloring to one half and knead until evenly colored. Repeat with ¼ teaspoon of black gel food coloring and the other half of dough.
- Roll Black Dough: Roll out the black-colored dough on parchment paper into a 9×15 inch rectangle. Transfer this rectangle on the parchment directly to a baking sheet and set aside.
- Roll Orange Dough: On a separate sheet of parchment paper, roll out the orange dough into the same 9×15 inch rectangle size.
- Layer and Chill: Carefully place the parchment paper with the orange dough on top of the black dough, aligning edges as closely as possible. Chill the layered dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm up.
- Prepare the Log: Remove the dough from the fridge. Peel off the top parchment from the orange dough layer and carefully place the orange dough directly on top of the black dough layer. Trim edges to make a tidy rectangle. Roll the combined dough tightly from the shorter side into a log, applying gentle pressure for layer adhesion.
- Refrigerate the Dough Log: Wrap the rolled dough log in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm it up for slicing.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet: Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C), or if using a fan oven, set to 160°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice Cookies: Unwrap the chilled dough log and place it on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into ¼ inch thick rounds carefully to maintain the pinwheel shape.
- Bake Cookies: Arrange the cookie slices on the prepared baking sheet with some space in between. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until the edges are set and cookies are lightly golden.
- Cool: Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- These Halloween Pinwheel Cookies are a guaranteed hit at parties with their festive orange and black swirl design.
- Make sure to chill the dough log thoroughly before slicing to ensure clean, uniform cookies.
- Using gel food coloring helps achieve vibrant colors without altering the dough consistency.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 101 kcal
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 49 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0.001 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
