Pinwheel Cookies

This is a favorite cookie to make. I love folding down the pinwheel and I love baking and eating them too. You can make them with a cookie cutter which punches out four-armed shapes. Just dab with jam in the center, flip the ends, and bake! It's quick, easy, and impressive! You can also make them without a cookie cutter if your good at cutting straight line. If not Amazon has some that are dishwasher-safe plastic. If you buy the cutters from Amazon it includes instructions and recipes.

My favorite filling to put in the center is chocolate or vanilla doughnut filling but I know that most people put jam in the middle before folding the sides down. With me I like to fold the pinwheel first, bake, then add the doughnut filling to the center. You have to wait until the pinwheels have completely cooled because cream filled doughnut filling is made with lots and lots of crisco and powdered sugar so it will melt if you don't.

I kid you NOT these cookies are delicious and they look soooooo beautiful in a big bowl; pilled up real high. Give as a gift on National Make a Gift Day which is celebrated on December 3rd.

Serve these during National Cookie Cutter Week the 1st week in December (we blogged it here), National Cookie Month in October and National Cookie Day too.
Note: There is a flat spiral cookie that's called a pinwheel as well.
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Buy from Amazon

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg, separated
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder

Directions

  Beat butter, cream cheese, and egg yolk until smooth. Stir in flour and baking powder. Mix until stiff dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Lightly beat egg white and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

On lightly floured surface, roll dough, 1/2 at a time, into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. With sharp knife, cut dough into 3-inch squares. Place 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with egg white.

With sharp knife, cut the dough diagonally from each corner to within 1/2-inch of center of each square. Place small amount of jam in center. Fold alternate corners of the square to the center to form pinwheel, overlapping the dough at the center pushing down gently to seal in center.




Bake until set, about 9 to 12 minutes. Using spatula, immediately remove from cookie sheets.