Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

 

I was at the Santa Barbara airport last year flipping through magazines when I spied this darling cookie.  I bought the magazine, but never made the cookies until two days ago.  I'm so glad I did!

 These bite-size(about 1 1/2 inches) cuties live up to their name and aren't just all about looks.  They are a soft chew, and the buttery cookies blend well with the peppermint filling.  There was a little bit of extra effort involved in these cookies, but I thought it was rather fun, and so worth it! 

These cookies are definitely going to be a Christmas tradition. I think they look adorable wrapped to look like their candy counterpart:) I am also going to put some of these peppermint cookies in a cute jar or tin and give them as a gift.  Of course I won't give them all away;)

Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

From "Southern Living" magazine

Yield: Makes 4 dozen

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
• Parchment paper
• 
  

Preparation

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.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
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.
4. Knead food coloring paste into remaining portion of dough while wearing rubber gloves. Roll tinted dough into a rectangle as directed in Step 3. Invert untinted dough onto tinted dough; peel off plastic wrap. Cut dough in half lengthwise, forming 2 (12- x 4-inch) 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.
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.
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).
7. Place Peppermint Frosting in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic freezer bag. Snip 1 corner of bag to make a small hole. Pipe about 2 tsp. frosting onto half of cookies; top with remaining cookies, gently pressing to form a sandwich.

Peppermint Frosting

Yield: Makes 1 3/4 cups

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  butter, softened
• 1  (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 2  cups  powdered sugar
• 1  tablespoon  milk
• 1/8  teaspoon  peppermint extract

Preparation

1. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Increase speed to medium, and gradually add milk and peppermint extract, beating until smooth.

Kitchen Notes

These cookies are delicious eaten at room temperature, or chill them 30 minutes for a firm, cool filling

This post is linked to:

All Through the Year Cheer,
Tasty Tuesdays
 and I'm Lovin' it Fridays.