Pinwheel Cherry Pie Food

CHERRY PINWHEEL COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour., Divide dough in half. Add cherry extract to 1 half and tint red. Knead almonds into remaining half. Wrap each half; refrigerate at least 3 hours or until firm enough to roll., On a baking sheet, roll each portion between 2 sheets of waxed paper into a 15x8-in. rectangle. Refrigerate 30 minutes., Remove waxed paper. Place almond rectangle on top of cherry rectangle. Roll up tightly jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Roll in coarse sugar; wrap securely. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm., Preheat oven to 375°. Unwrap and cut dough crosswise into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

PINWHEEL CHERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on bottom rack to catch juices.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out an 11-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate crust while you prepare filling.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon. Using your fingertips, rub vanilla seeds into sugar mixture. Add cherries and toss. Transfer cherry mixture to crust. Dot top with butter.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out second disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a pastry wheel, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Working with one strip at a time, gently lift from each end and twist in opposite directions to twirl.
• Starting at center of pie, place strip over filling in a spiral. Repeat with more strips, connecting them as you go by gently pinching adjoining ends together (you will have leftover strips; reserve for another use). Brush spiral and exposed edge of bottom crust with egg wash.
• Bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling (if using fresh cherries, begin checking after 1 hour; if using frozen, it will take about 1 hour, 30 minutes). If top begins to brown too quickly, tent with foil and continue to bake. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Pie can be stored at room temperature (covered loosely with parchment and tented with foil) up to 1 day.

CHERRY PISTACHIO PINWHEEL COOKIES

Steps:

• Put the cherries, pistachios and brown sugar in a food processor and pulse until a fine crumb forms (take care not to over process or the filling will clump together). Set aside.
• Put the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, baking powder and salt and beat for another minute. Lower the speed to medium and add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time; beat until smooth. Cover and place in the fridge to chill, about 1 hour.
• Divide dough the in half and flatten each into squares. Put one portion of dough in between two 12-by-12-inch sheets of parchment paper dusted with flour. Roll out into a 1/8-inch-thick square. Remove the top parchment sheet and sprinkle half of the cherry-pistachio filling evenly across the dough. Pat into an even layer. Tightly roll into one large log (using the parchment to help you). Trim the ends and then roll the exterior in a mixture of sprinkles to coat. Repeat with the remaining dough, filling and sprinkles. Tightly cover in fresh parchment and refrigerate overnight (preferred) or at least 4 hours, until the dough is firm.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
• Remove and uncover the dough logs and slice with a very sharp knife into 1/4-inch-thick pinwheels. Arrange about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until slightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack. Store for up to 3 days in an airtight container, or freeze cookies for future use, up to 2 weeks.
• Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY PINWHEELS

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in flour, baking powder and salt until well blended. Place half of dough in another medium bowl.
• Beat almond extract, cherries and food color into half of dough. Divide cherry dough in half. Wrap each half of cherry dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until firm.
• Beat vanilla, milk and cocoa into remaining plain dough. Divide chocolate dough in half. Wrap each half of chocolate dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until firm.
• Place one part of chocolate dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper; roll into 10x7-inch rectangle. Repeat with one part of cherry dough. Refrigerate both about 30 minutes or until firm. Peel top sheets of waxed paper from both doughs. Turn cherry dough upside down onto chocolate dough; roll up doughs together, starting at long side, into a log. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 2 hours. Repeat with remaining parts of dough.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Cut rolls of dough into 1/4-inch slices with sharp knife. On ungreased cookie sheet, place slices 1 inch apart.
• Bake 8 to 11 minutes or surface appears dull. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.