Red and White Candy Cane Cookies and Pinwheel Cookies
Use one batch of vanilla sugar cookie dough to make these festive and old fashioned Christmas cookie recipes for candy cane cookies and pinwheel cookies.
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Equipment
- Food Processor
- Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
White Cookie Dough
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)
- ½ tsp almond extract (or 1/4 tsp peppermint extract) optional
- 2 tbsp whole milk
Red Cookie Dough
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp "super red" gel food coloring
- ½ cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)
- ½ tsp almond extract (or 1/4 tsp peppermint extract) optional
- 2 tbsp whole milk
Instructions
Make the white cookie dough.
- In your food processor, pulse the flour, powdered sugar and salt until combined.With the processor running, drop in the pieces of butter, one at at time, pulsing a few times until the butter is evenly distributed, and the dough is moistened and crumbly.Add the vanilla (plus the almond or peppermint extract, if using) and the milk, then process until the dough starts to stick together.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and use your hands to finish bringing the dough together, kneading in any stray bits of flour. The dough should be soft, smooth and supple.
Make the red cookie dough.
- In your food processor, pulse the flour, powdered sugar and salt until combined.Add the red food coloring, then with the processor running, drop in the pieces of butter, one at at time, pulsing a few times until the butter is evenly distributed, and the dough is moistened and crumbly.Add the vanilla (plus the almond or peppermint extract, if using) and the milk, then process until the dough starts to stick together.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and use your hands to finish bringing the dough together, kneading in any stray bits of flour. The dough should be soft, smooth and supple.
Chill the dough.
- Shape the dough into flat disks, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Prepare two or three baking sheets by lining them with sheets of parchment paper.
Make the pinwheel cookies.
- Use a bench scraper to cut off about 8 1/2 ounces of white dough and 8 1/2 ounces of red dough to use for the pinwheel cookies. Wrap and refrigerate the remainder of the dough.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the white dough to about 1/8 inch thick, then roll out the red dough to 1/8 inch thick.
- Use a ruler to cut out an 8x8 inch square of white dough and red dough. Gather up the scraps, squeeze them tightly together and add them to the leftover dough in the refrigerator.
- Brush any excess flour off the sheets of dough. Lay one sheet of dough down, then lay the other sheet of dough right on top. Pinch them together on one side, then tightly roll the dough up into a log, keeping the ends as straight and even as possible.When you get to the end, you'll need to dip a pastry brush in water and very lightly dampen the last few inches of dough so that it sticks together to form a tight log.
- Wrap the log of dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Place the chilled log of dough on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to slice the dough into cookies, about 1/4 inch thick. Place the cut cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 1-2 inches between each cookie, and refrigerate while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, until baked through and lightly browned on the bottom.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the candy cane cookies.
- While the dough is chilling for the pinwheel cookies, you can go ahead and shape the candy cane cookies with the rest of the dough.
- Using a small cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon) with a release lever, portion the white dough into 15 balls, and the red dough into 15 balls. Roll the dough balls smooth between your hands, place on a tray and keep covered with plastic wrap so they don't dry out while you're shaping the cookies.
- On your counter, use your hands to roll a white dough ball into a "rope" measuring 5-6 inches long. Then, roll a red dough ball into a rope.Pinch the two ropes together at one end, twist them around each other, and pinch the other end together. Shape into a candy cane and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.Repeat with the remainder of the dough.Notes: Use separate spots on your counter for rolling the red and white dough, or they will pick up color from each other. If the ropes are sticking to the counter, you can very lightly dust it with flour. Don't use too much flour for this step, though. You want the ropes of dough to be a little "tacky" so that they stick to each other when you shape the candy cane cookies.
- Chill the shaped cookies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, until baked through (with no appearance of raw or wet dough) and lightly browned on the bottom. Note that the hot cookies will still be soft on the baking sheet, but will firm up as they cool.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
This recipe yields about 15 candy cane cookies and 20 small pinwheel cookies.
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
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