Pinwheel Cookies
Nothing is better then a pretty cookie. These are a chocolate/vanilla soft sugar cookie. This is a recipe that you have to prepare ahead of time, because some freezing of the dough is required.
It is a good cookie to make around the holidays or to impress someone. These are slice and bake cookies so you can make the dough up to three months in advance and bake as needed.
This is what the uncooked dough looks like. We added a nutella layer in between the chocolate and the vanilla.
The cookies puff up a lot while baking. On the left is the unbaked dough, and on the right is the cookies after they come out of the oven.
The cookies are really big and really soft. They are not incredibly sweet so if you are looking for a flavor more like store bought sugar cookies, simply add in some more sugar.
Ingredients:
3/4 C butter
1 C sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
2 C flour
3/4 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 C Nutella (optional)
4 tablespoons cocoa mixed with 2 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar
Directions:
1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Mix with 2 tablespoons of milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Set aside
2. In a separate bowl, cream 1 C butter and 1 C sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add in the egg and vanilla extract.
4. Add in the milk. Beat until smooth
5. Add in the flour and baking powder.
6. Take about 1/3 of this vanilla dough and add it to the reserved chocolate dough. Beat together until the entire dough is chocolate. This forms your chocolate dough.
7. On a piece of wax paper, roll half of the vanilla dough out until it is about a 8x8 square. On a separate piece of wax paper do the same with half of the chocolate dough.
8. Lay the chocolate dough square on top of the vanilla dough square. This can be easily done by flipping the chocolate dough onto the vanilla dough and then peeling off the wax paper. Spread the nutella on top of the chocolate layer.
9. Starting from one end, tightly roll the dough into a log. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or the wax paper.
10. Roll the second half of the dough into a log using the same fashion.
11. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes.
12. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll on counter to retain circular shape and prevent one side from flattening
13. Place the dough in the freezer for about a hour. At this point you can cut and bake the dough as needed.
14. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350. Take the log of dough and cut it into 1/4 inch thickness with a sharp knife.
15. Place slices on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.
