Christmas Swirls are so cheerful and perfect for Christmas. These yummy nut-free cookies are perfect for gift giving, open houses and tree trimming parties. They are irresistible.
Ingredients for Christmas Swirls:
yields 2 dozen cookies
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1 /2 teaspoons vanilla
liquid green food coloring
nonpareil sprinkles, ideally red, green, and white
1 egg white, slightly beaten
Two sheet pans. A few people have asked about which pans I use. Click HERE for more information.
You will also need an electric beater or a stand mixer. I am using the KitchenAid 5 Qt. Artisan Design Series Stand Mixer. Click HERE if you are interested in learning more about it.
Time-Saving Tips: The dough can be made a few days in advance and kept in the refrigerator until ready to be used. It can also be frozen.
Let's see what we need.
Time to bake.
Cream together the room temperature butter and sugar for a couple of minutes. Combine the egg and the vanilla.
Once the mixture looks fluffy add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just blended.
Divide the dough in half. Set aside half of the dough. Using the mixer blend the other half of dough with the green food coloring. Add as much food coloring for desired color green. Shape each piece of dough into a rectangle and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate a couple of hours.
Starting with the plain dough, roll out to an 8 1/2 " square on a lightly floured piece of plastic wrap. Trim to an 8 " square. Repeat the process with the green dough. The green dough will be a little less firm since it has the liquid green food coloring. That's okay. Once rolled out slide the dough and plastic wrap onto a cutting board or other flat surface and refrigerate about an hour to firm up.
Once the dough is firm enough to handle remove from the refrigerator. Lightly brush the plain dough with water. Carefully, place the green dough over the plain dough. Discard plastic from the green dough. Starting with the end closest to you start rolling the layered dough -like a jelly roll. Use the plastic wrap to help roll and guide the dough. Do your best to make a tight and neat roll. Seal the plastic wrap around the log. Refrigerate for a few hours, days, or freeze before the next step.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees and adjust the rack to the middle of the oven.
Lightly beat the egg white with a fork so it is a little frothy. Pour the sprinkles onto a sheet of parchment paper. Remove dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap the dough and lightly brush the entire except the ends with the egg white. Carefully roll the dough in the sprinkles to coat. Keep your hands dry of egg white so you don't want to make all of the sprinkles wet. They will clump and depending on the brand of sprinkle the colors can start to run.
Using a non-serrated knife cut the log into 24 slices - each 1/3" thick. After each slice carefully wipe the edge of the knife so it is clean of any dough. This is an extra step but will ensure neat and clean slices. Rotate the dough in between slicing so it maintains its shape. Place the slices on parchment lined cookie sheets. Leaving about 1 1/2" - 2" between the slices. Bake for about 10-15 minutes. The cookies should be a just turning a very light golden color. Let the cookies cool on the pans for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.
They're ready! Don't they look great? Any hostess would love getting a plate of Christmas Swirls during the holiday season. Feel free to change the color for other holidays or even baby showers.
Enjoy!
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