Pinwheel Cookies I Food

PINWHEEL COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, orange zest and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for 4 hours or until firm. , Meanwhile, combine all filling ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until smooth; set aside to cool. , On a floured surface, divide dough in half; roll each half into a 12x10-in. rectangle. Spread with filling. Carefully roll up into a tight jelly roll and wrap in waxed paper. Chill overnight. , Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

BASIC CHOCOLATE PINWHEEL COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. , Divide dough in half; add cocoa to one portion. Divide each portion in half. On a baking sheet, roll out each portion between waxed paper into a 12x10-in. rectangle. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. , Remove waxed paper. Place one chocolate rectangle over a plain rectangle. Roll up tightly, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; wrap in plastic. Repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. , Place 2 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.

ICEBOX PINWHEEL COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
• In a mixer with a paddle attachment cream the butter well; then add the sugar and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and then the vanilla.
• On the low setting, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Divide the dough in half and return half the dough to the mixer. Add the warm melted chocolate and mix to combine. Shape both pieces of dough into 4 by 4-inch square, and wrap them in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• Cut each square into 4 strips then place them on a sheet pan and keep chilled while you roll out the dough. Between pieces of parchment paper, roll out a piece of chocolate dough into a rectangle 6 by 7 inches (have a ruler nearby). Roll a piece of vanilla dough out into a 6 by 6-inch square. Peel off the top pieces of parchment from both doughs and flip the vanilla dough onto the chocolate, allowing 1/2-inch border of chocolate dough around the top and bottom. Press the 2 doughs together lightly with a cake pan or other flat pan. Peel off the top piece of parchment and fold the 1/2-inch of over hanging chocolate dough up and over the vanilla dough. Use the parchment to roll up the dough into a tight pinwheel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 4 to 5 hours (roll the dough a couple times the first hour so it doesn't develop a flat side). Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a sheet pan. Unwrap the roll and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Place them 1 1/2 inches apart on the sheet pan and bake for 9 to 11 minutes.

DATE NUT PINWHEEL COOKIES I

Steps:

• Chop pitted dates in food chopper. Place dates into small saucepan and add 1/4 cup sugar, dash of salt, and 1 1/4 cups of water. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture is of a soft consistency. Remove from heat.
• Add grated lemon rind, lemon juice, and chopped nuts. Mix well and chill.
• Cream together 3/4 cup butter and gradually add 1/2 cup white sugar and 1cup lightly packed brown sugar. Beat well. Beat 2 eggs until thick and add to creamed mixture part at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.
• Measure into a sifter 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Sift together twice. Sift dry ingredients into creamed mixture about 1/4 at a time. Combine thoroughly after each addition. Chill until firm.
• Divide dough into 3 parts. Roll out 1 part at a time into a rectangle. Spread with date filling. Roll up jelly roll fashion in waxed paper. Chill several hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• With sharp knife, slice 1/4 inch thick slices off of rolls and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake 10 - 13 minutes. Let cool.

CHRISTMAS PINWHEEL COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a bowl. Resift again into another bowl.
• Beat the butter with the brown and white sugars in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until evenly blended. Gather the dough into a ball, and divide into two equal parts. Place one half in a second bowl. Add red food coloring to the dough in one bowl, and green food coloring to the dough in the other bowl. Use a fork or wooden spoon to blend the food coloring into the dough until evenly blended. Add additional drops of food coloring to make the desired shade.
• Roll out the red dough to 1/4 inch (5mm) thickness. Roll out the green dough to 1/4 inch (5mm) thickness, and place on top of the red dough. Beginning on one edge, roll the doughs to make a log so the two colors spiral inside each other. Wrap the log in waxed paper, then in a cotton towel, and refrigerate at least 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.
• Unwrap the dough log, and place on a clean, lightly floured surface. Slice the log into rounds 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick, and place on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven until set, 5 to 6 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent edges from browning. Remove from oven, and cool on racks.

CRANBERRY CHERRY PINWHEEL CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Make filling: Combine cranberries, cherry preserves and cinnamon with water in a medium saucepan. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 5-8 minutes, or until mixture softens and most of the liquid is absorbed. If it seems too dry, stir in 1 tablespoon water. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate until cool. (Filling may be stored up to 48 hours. Bring to room temperature and stir well before using.).
• Make dough:.
• Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs, orange zest and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into egg mixture and beat until combined well. Chill one hour.
• Assemble rolls:.
• Divide dough in half and roll out each piece between sheets of wax paper into a roughly 8 x 12 inch rectangle. Remove top sheet of wax paper (if it sticks too much, refrigerate dough for a few minutes to firm it up).
• Divide filling between rectangles, spreading it very thin in an even layer (you may have a little excess filling). Tightly roll up each rectangle jelly-roll fashion, beginning with a long side and using the wax paper as an aid, to form a 12 inch long log. Wrap rolls in wax paper and smooth out the logs by running your hands over them to make them as evenly sized as possible. Be gentle but firm. Wrap in foil and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Working with one roll at a time, keeping remaining roll chilled, cut rolls crosswise into 1/8 - 1/4 inch slices. Arrange slices 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets, shaping the slices into neater rounds if necessary. Bake in the middle of the oven until pale golden and set, 8-12 minutes. Let stand on cookie sheet for about a minute to set. Transfer warm cookies to racks to cool.
• Passive cooking time includes chilling and baking the entire batch.