Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

More festive treats...These are something that I had come across in the LATimes cooking section a few years ago. I gave it a whirl and we loved them.  While I lost that recipe, this one was just as good and possibly a bit simpler.

My only mistake this round was omitting the peppermint flavoring.  The last batch that I made a few years ago, I included the peppermint extract (similar to vanilla extract) and it made for a wonderful holiday treat.  These are just as festive with the red and white swirl, but simply taste like a butter cookie.

Tip: You can even make a little bit of peppermint frosting to place in between two delicious pinwheel cookies.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened 

1 cup sugar 

1 large egg 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt 

3/4 teaspoon red food coloring paste

Step-by-Step Process:
1. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating until blended, scraping bowl as needed.

Dough will look like small pebbles, but don't worry, keep mixing.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended.

After adding all the wet ingredients, the batter will turn very creamy but will return to its pebble state once the flour or dry ingredients are added.  Again, just keep mixing :) 

3. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll 1 portion of dough into a 12- x 8-inch rectangle on a piece of lightly floured plastic wrap.

Meghan playing the tunes as we bake away. She was in the process of whipping up dozens of the famous "Nancy" rolls for our holiday parties. Delish!

4. Blend red food coloring into the second half of the dough.  Blend until the dough has turned completely red. Roll red dough into a rectangle as directed in Step 3. Put the second dough on top of the first one and peel off the plastic wrap. Cut the dough down the middle to create two smaller rectangles.  Roll up each rectangle, jelly-roll fashion, starting at 1 long side, using bottom piece of plastic wrap as a guide. Wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze 4 hours or up to 1 month.

I didn't really go with an exact measurement of food coloring, I just threw some in and blended, adjusting as necessary

And it seems to have worked in my favor!

5. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut ends off each dough log, and discard. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick pieces, and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Frozen dough pre-slicing

Ready to be put in the oven

6. Bake at 350° for 6 to 7 minutes or until puffed and set; cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).

The finished product, delicious hot out of the oven, cooled for a few hours, or even frozen!  But that's just my crazy obsession with frozen treats. Merry Christmas!