Description
These Halloween Pinwheel Cookies are delightful, festive sugar cookies perfect for any Halloween party. Featuring vibrant orange and black swirls created with gel food coloring, these slice-and-bake cookies are both visually striking and deliciously buttery with a hint of vanilla. Easy to prepare and fun to serve, they’ll be a spooky treat your guests will love.
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 flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined; then set 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, creamy, and light in texture. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, continuing to beat until fully incorporated.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing gently just until no streaks of flour remain to avoid overworking the dough.
- Divide and Color Dough: Divide the dough evenly into two halves. Add ¼ teaspoon of orange gel food coloring to one half and knead until the color is evenly distributed. Repeat with ¼ teaspoon of black gel food coloring on the other half.
- Roll Black Dough: Roll out the black-colored dough on parchment paper into a 9 by 15-inch rectangle. Carefully transfer this to a baking sheet and set aside.
- Roll Orange Dough: On a separate sheet of parchment paper, roll out the orange-colored dough into a matching 9 by 15-inch rectangle.
- Layer Doughs and Chill: Place the parchment paper with the orange dough directly 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 for Rolling: Remove chilled dough from the fridge. Peel off the top parchment from the orange dough and gently lay the orange dough layer over the black dough layer, trimming edges to form a clean rectangle.
- Form the Pinwheel Log: Starting from a shorter side, carefully roll the dough tightly into a log shape, applying gentle pressure to ensure the layers adhere well together.
- Chill the Dough Log: Wrap the rolled dough log tightly in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm up, making slicing easier.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet: Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) or 160°C if using a fan oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice the Cookies: Unwrap the chilled dough log and place it on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice log into ¼ inch thick cookie rounds carefully.
- Bake Cookies: Arrange the cookie slices on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the edges just begin to set.
- Cool Cookies: Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes to firm slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- These cookies are a festive and visually impressive treat, ideal for Halloween celebrations.
- The slice-and-bake technique makes it easy to prepare ahead of time and bake fresh whenever desired.
- Ensure dough is well chilled before slicing to maintain the pinwheel shape during baking.
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant colors without altering dough consistency.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
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
