Description
These Swirled Christmas Cookies are festive, soft, and buttery treats perfect for the holiday season. Featuring a beautiful red, white, and green spiral design and coated with colorful Christmas sprinkles, these cookies are as delightful to look at as they are to eat. The dough is flavored with almond and vanilla extracts for a rich, classic taste and chilled to ensure tender, perfectly shaped cookies that hold their swirl. Ideal for sharing at holiday parties or gifting to friends and family.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (226g)
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (250g)
- 1 large egg, room temperature (56g)
- 2 tsp almond extract (10g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (5g)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (390g)
- 1 tsp cornstarch (3g)
- 1 tsp baking powder (4g)
- 1 tsp fine salt (6g)
- red gel food coloring
- green gel food coloring
Decoration
- 1 cup Christmas sprinkles (nonpareils recommended)
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the unsalted butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until the mixture becomes lighter in color and fluffy.
- Add Egg and Extracts: Mix in the large egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste on medium speed until fully incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to ensure even mixing.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and fine salt. Mix at low speed just until the dough comes together. Avoid overmixing to keep the cookies tender, scraping bowl sides to ensure thorough mixing.
- Divide and Color Dough: Divide the dough into three equal portions (about 10 oz or 305g each). Leave one portion uncolored, color one with red gel food coloring, and the other with green gel food coloring. Wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap, pressing into a flattened rectangle about 1/3 inch thick to simplify rolling later.
- Chill Dough: Refrigerate the dough portions for 30 minutes, or freeze for 10 minutes, or refrigerate overnight. If chilled overnight, allow dough to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling to soften slightly.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) about 30 minutes before baking. Line two large baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper for easy removal of cookies.
- Roll and Stack Dough: Unwrap each dough portion and roll out on plastic wrap to approximately 7 by 12 inches. Place a parchment sheet on the counter and stack the dough sheets in this order: green on bottom, white in the middle, red on top. Gently roll over the stack with a rolling pin to bond the layers.
- Trim and Shape Dough Log: Trim uneven edges with a sharp knife. Cut one long side of the stack at an angle to create a more defined spiral. Starting from this angled edge, carefully roll the dough tightly into a log. Use the parchment paper to assist rolling. Seal the seam by gently pressing and spreading a bit of green dough over it.
- Coat with Sprinkles: Pour the Christmas sprinkles onto a rimmed baking sheet. Roll or press the dough log into the sprinkles until fully coated on the outside.
- Slice Cookies: Using a sharp knife, slice the dough log into 1/3 inch thick cookies. Keep the dough chilled enough so the slices hold their shape; if too soft, refrigerate the log for 15-30 minutes before slicing. Place the cookies on prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart to allow for slight spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake one sheet at a time on the middle oven rack for 12-14 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking for even heat distribution. Remove cookies just before edges brown to avoid overbaking, as they will firm up on the pan while cooling.
- Cool: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store and Serve: Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Enjoy these festive cookies fresh or share them as sweet holiday gifts.
Notes
- This recipe yields about 20 swirled cookies; yield and bake time may vary based on cookie thickness.
- The recipe can be doubled to increase yield if desired.
- Properly creaming butter and sugar incorporates air, resulting in tender, soft cookies.
- Use gel food coloring instead of liquid to maintain dough consistency and vibrant colors.
- Cut cookies uniformly at 1/3 inch thickness to ensure even baking.
- Chilling the dough is important to prevent spreading and achieve the ideal soft texture.
- Do not overbake; cookies continue to firm up as they cool. When in doubt, slightly underbake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 160
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
