Spiral sugar cookies
12.26.2011 
These colorful cookies from Sprinkle Bakes caught my eye last week as I perused for something festive to bring to Christmas Eve dinner. Aren't they pretty? The green swirl was fun for Christmas, but any color would be just as fun. Bright yellow for a spring-time cookie? Orange for a Halloween cookie? A swirl of colors for a birthday cookie?
Not only are these pretty, but they are also deliciously tasty. They were by far my favorite of all the cookies I brought to our Christmas Eve gathering. And you can imagine how much the kids enjoyed them! I heard someone say, "Ooo, look! A Grinch cookie!" The green swirls do strangely remind me of the Grinch's long, swirling fingers.
In a food processor, combine:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Process until combined.
Add 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (cold and cubed) and process until the mixture has a cornmeal consistency.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and process until the mixture just forms a ball. It will still be somewhat crumbly at first.
Divide the dough in half and return one half to the food processor.
Add to the food processor:
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tube gel food coloring (any color)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Process until just incorporated.
Roll out each half of the dough between sheets of wax paper into an 8x11-inch(ish) rectangle, with a 1/4-inch thickness. I used a piece of paper as a guide. Leaving the wax paper on the dough halves, stack on a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
Pour 1 cup of multi-colored sprinkles in a shallow rectangular dish.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and peel off the top pieces of wax paper from each half of dough. Flip the colored dough half over onto the white dough half so that dough is touching dough. Remove the top sheet of wax paper and trim the long edges with a sharp knife so that the sides are straight and parallel with one another.
When the dough becomes just pliable, roll it into a log beginning with a long edge. Gently curl the edge with your fingertips and do your best to avoid creating air pockets. Carefully lift the log into the decor-filled dish.
Gently roll it around until the outside is completely cooated with color.
Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to slice, at least 4 hours.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
Slice the cookie log into 1/4-inch-thick discs and bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the cookies are no longer shiny.
Enjoy these! And thank you, Sprinkle Bakes, for such a fun and delicious recipe!
Reader Comments (34)
These are gorgeous! I LOVE all the sprinkles! And the swirl action!
These are the coolest cookies!! I love them :D I'm totally saving this idea for a special occasion!
Seussical! These are my new favorites. I'd have been walking around with two over my eyes all night. You know, cause I'm mature.
LOVE THESE!
Buzzed
Those are GORGEOUS! What a beautiful job you did! The green and white really pop together!
These cookies are absolutely stunning!
I made these for Christmas treats this year, but yours turned out way more beautiful than mine. Look at that little perfect swoop right in the middle! Gorgeous! Merry Christmas!
Stunningly beautiful. Total cookie hall of fame! I officially nominate you! Lol!
WOW!!! Your pinwheels are perfect!!! Love these beauties!!!
Love these- so cute!
I have such a bad luck with any kind of swirly cookie. :( My problem always occurs when I'm trying to roll up the two layers: the layers don't stick together, and they separate as I try to roll them up. Any suggestions?
Oh god, this is so great! I gonna make them for new years party, thanks!
These are so fun! I think I know what my daughter and I are going to be making for NYE with her little buddy! Thanks for sharing! :)
These are just amazing!
Happy New Year!
Love the green color - and the sprinkles! These cookies are so much fun to look at. I am thinking they would be perfect for my nephew's second birthday!
Gorgeous cookies and photos! Congrats on Top 9.
These are so pretty! Love them. I've seen them before with a pink swirl and had forgotten about them 'till now. :)
I made this recipe recently and found I needed to add an egg in order to make the ingredients form dough.
Wow those are absolutely gorgeous! Congrats on Top 9!
I LOVE the vibrancy of the green & multicolored pretty sprinkles!
xo
These cookies are beautiful.
To Cathy @ Savory Notes: if your layers don't stick together, brush a little water on the bottom later and then let them soften a little more. Then you can chill them again or just roll them up. You may need to use the wax paper to roll them if you don't rechill.
love the bright colours - so cute and ideal for a kids party. I so need to make these for the next mummies and toddlers get together !
Happy New Year
These are beautiful!! The directions made me laugh though, where it says "Preheat your oven to 325" and then directly after says to put the dough in the fridge for 4 hours!! My oven definitely doesn't take 4 hours to heat to 325! :-P
Your oven doesn't take 4 hours to preheat? :) Thanks for noting that for me!
Megan
just made these they came out PERFECT. so cute and soo tasty. i coated them very lightly in an egg/water combo before adding the sprinkles to let them stick better
I was so excited about making these cookies for a surprise birthday party. However, the "dough" came out a sticky mess and looked more like cake batter. It's been sitting in my fridge for over 2 hours and is hopelessly stuck to the wax paper. I'm gonna have to throw it all away... I followed the recipe exactly. It sort of resembled a ball of dough that was slightly crumbly, but when I added the vanilla it destroyed it. When it wasn't working I thought more flour might help. I never thought to add an egg... but I'm afraid to try it again because I don't want to waste all those ingredients a second time. What did I do wrong... ?