cookie calendar - day 5: peppermint pinwheel cookies

Stuart (aka @MyCakeyBoi) is a wonderful baker and a good friend, so when I asked him to suggest some of his favourite friends/bloggers who might be interested, he didn't have a shortage of suggestions. One of my favourites on his list is the lovely and talented Louise.

After first connecting with Louise on Twitter, I then spent a few days in a sugar-coma looking through her website. Then I got her recipe in my inbox and spent another few days recovering from the shock. LOL. These are definitely the most COLOURFUL cookies I've ever included in the Cookie Advent Calendar and they are awesome! So perfect for the holidays!

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guest post by Louise from Crumbs and Corkscrews

I was flattered when Stuart (@MrCakeyBoi) suggested me to Stephanie, to take part in this year’s Cookie Advent Calendar. I was delighted when Stephanie got in touch and my mind has been whirling with ideas ever since!

I’ve just got back into blogging after a little break to run my cake shop, and now I’m working from my studio at home, I’ve more time to bake and create for my website, Crumbs and Corkscrews (www.crumbsandcorkscrews.co.uk).

I had so many different ideas I wanted to try out, but the cookie that I choose was a style I’d been wanting to try for a long time… pinwheels! I love green, red and white together, they scream Christmas to me. They also remind me of candy canes, so I decided to flavour my cookies with peppermint extract. These are my cookie-take on a candy cane… with sprinkles!

I love the festive season, I love the planning, the build up, being with my family and having just a fabulous time. I’m really looking forward to this year as my little nephew is now older enough to understand the magic of Christmas, and he is so excited. I can’t wait!!

I hope that you enjoy these Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies and would love to see you over on Crumbs and Corkscrews, or you can follow me on Twitter (twitter.com/happy_food), Facebook (facebook.com/crumbscorks) or Pinterest (pinterest.com/LouCarruthers)

Thank you again to Stephanie for asking me to take part in her Cooke Advent Calendar, and Stuart for recommending me!

Happy Holidays Everyone. Have a fabulous time!

Lou

x

peppermint pinwheel cookies

Yield -  24 to 36 cookies

Prep Time - 20 minutes, plus chilling time

Baking Time - 10 minutes

Ingredients

225g Unsalted butter

275g Caster sugar

2 Eggs, medium

3 tsp Peppermint extract

375g Plain flour

1/2 tsp Baking powder

Red food colouring

Green food colouring

Red, Green and white sprinkles

Instructions

Making the Cookie Dough

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until softened. Alternatively, you can make the cookie dough, in a large mixing bowl, by hand or with an electric hand whisk.

Add the sugar to the softened butter and cream until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, to the creamed mixture. Beat well between adding each egg.

Add the peppermint to the mixture, and mix until well combined.

Sift the flour and baking powder together, and add to the mixture. Gently mix together until the dough comes together and is smooth.

Turn the cookie dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and split into 3 equal portions.

Shape one piece of cookie dough into a rectangle, about 2cm thick, and wrap in cling film. This will be the white part of your cookie.

Place one portion of cookie dough into the stand mixer bowl and add green food colouring. Mix well until all the cookie dough is green in colour. Add more colouring until you get the colour you want. The colour will fade when baked, so it is best to go stronger on the colouring, rather than pale. Turn the green cookie dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into another rectangle, similar to the ‘white’ cookie dough. Wrap in cling film. Scrap down the mixer bowl and paddle to remove any remaining green dough.

Place the final portion of cookie dough into the stand mixer bowl and add red food colouring. Mix well until all the cookie dough is red in colour. Add more colouring until you get the colour you want. Turn the red cookie dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into another rectangle, similar to the ‘white’ cookie dough. Wrap in cling film.

Chill all 3 portions of cookie dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Assembling the Cookies

Remove the chilled cookie dough from the fridge, and unwrap.

Place the white cookie dough onto a large piece of cling film, and place another piece of cling film on top. Gently roll the dough out into a large rectangle, until about 4mm thickness. Every 5 rolls, peel back the top layer of cling film to release the dough, replace and continue to roll out the dough. Repeat for the green and red cookie dough, so you have 3 pieces of cookie dough of similar size.

Remove the top sheet of cling film from the white and red cookie doughs. Place the uncovered side of the red dough on top of the uncovered side of the white dough. Flip over the dough so the white dough is on top, and remove the cling film.

Remove the top sheet of cling film from the green cookie dough, and place on top of the white dough. Gently roll over the cookie dough to seal the three layers together.

Remove the cling film from the top of the green dough layer, and from the narrow end begin to roll the cookie dough into a sausage. Use the bottom layer of cling film to pull the dough into a tight roll.

Pour the sprinkles into a baking tray, it stops them rolling everywhere, and place the cookie dough sausage on top. Roll the sausage in the sprinkles so that they coat the dough. Wrap the sprinkle dough in a clean piece of cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours, or overnight.

Baking the Cookies

Preheat the oven to 180C and line two large baking sheets with baking parchment.

Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and unwrap.

Using a sharp knife, slice the cookie dough into equal rounds, approximately 1cm in width.

Place the rounds onto the baking parchment, leaving space between them to allow them to spread when baking.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a pale golden colour.

Slide the baked cookies and parchment off the baking tray and onto a wire rack to cool.

The recipe and all photos used in this blog post belong to Louise / Crumbs and Corkscrews and should not be reprinted without her express permission.