Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies

These chocolate pinwheel cookies are perennially popular— in my house, that is.  If my family had to choose a favorite cookie, this would be it.  I can bake this recipe for days in a row and the cookies will disappear just as fast.  The nice thing is you don’t have to bake the cookie dough all at once.  Just store it in the freezer for however long, and if you get a hankering for cookies, or if you’re expecting company at the last minute, no problem.  Just take out the cookie dough, slice and bake.  It’s really so easy and convenient.

 

 

The ingredients are so plain and basic, yet when combined, the flavor is just absolutely wonderful.  Really, nothing beats homemade.  Have one cookie, or two, or three, or four with a cold glass of milk and you’re good to go.

 

 

Basically, just cocoa powder, butter and milk are all that’s needed to make the chocolate swirl.

 

 

Start out by combining the butter and milk and microwave just for a few seconds to melt the butter.  Stir well.

 

 

Then add the cocoa powder to the melted butter and milk mixture.  Mix well with a rubber spatula.  The result will be almost like dough in texture.  Set aside.

 

 

Seven ingredients are needed for the cookie dough.  Nothing fancy or exotic required, just regular butter, sugar, flour, egg yolks, vanilla and milk.

 

 

Sift the flour together with the baking powder.

 

 

Make sure the butter is at room temperature.  Beat on medium speed until light and creamy.  Gradually add the sugar and beat until fluffy.  Then add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Then add the vanilla and two tablespoons milk.  Beat until well incorporated.

 

 

At low speed, gradually add the sifted dry ingredients.  Once the dry ingredients are added, increase speed to medium and beat until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl as shown above.  Remove about ¾ of the dough from the bowl and set aside.

 

 

To the remaining dough that’s in the bowl, add the chocolate mixture then beat until well mixed.

 

 

Shape both vanilla and chocolate dough into balls and slice each dough ball into two equal halves.

 

 

On a sheet of waxed paper, roll out half of the vanilla dough into a rectangle roughly 7 inches by 8 inches.  Do the same for one half of the chocolate dough.

 

 

Flip the rolled chocolate dough onto the vanilla dough, and then peel the waxed paper off of the chocolate dough.  Lightly press by gently running your rolling pin on the surface to remove any air pockets and ensure both are adhered.

Starting with the short end facing you, tightly roll the dough into a log.

Repeat the same steps with the other half of the chocolate and vanilla dough so you get two cookie dough logs.

Wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.  Remove from refrigerator then roll each log on the counter to retain a round shape and prevent one side from flattening.  Tightly wrap again in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container.  Freeze for about an hour or store in freezer and bake as needed.

 

 

When ready to bake, slightly thaw the dough just enough so you can easily slice it cleanly with a sharp knife.  Each slice will measure approximately ¼ inch in thickness.

Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper allowing each cookie enough space to expand.

 

 

One recipe will yield about 40 cookies.  I didn’t slice all of the dough and just stored the remainder back in the freezer.  Bake at 325 F for 15 to 20 minutes.

 

 

The cookies will expand quite a bit when baked.  Here’s a before and after shot to show the difference.

 

 

Transfer the cookies onto a wire rack to cool.

 

 

And here they are.  Someone shook the cookie tree, and down came all these chocolate pinwheel cookies.

 

 

These pinwheel cookies make a wonderful snack, and can easily be packed in a lunch box.

 

 

If you’re having a party and need to make a couple of things for your dessert table, make the cookie dough weeks in advance and forget about it.  Then on the day of your party, you can just whip up a batch without even messing up the kitchen.

 

 

It’s time to bake!

 

 

And have fun!

 

 Bake and enjoy!

 

Store cookies at room temperature in a cookie jar or airtight container, assuming there are any left.

 

Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 4 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons cocoa mixed with 2 tablespoons melted butter and 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons milk for a few seconds in the microwave.
2. Add 6 tablespoons cocoa and mix well.  Set aside.
3. Sift the flour together with the baking powder.
4. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add egg yolks one at a time beating well after each addition.
6. Add vanilla, then 2 tablespoons milk beating until well mixed.
7. At low speed, gradually add the sifted dry ingredients and mix well.  Then increase speed to medium and beat until the dough leaves the side of the bowl.
8. Divide dough.  Remove about ¾ of the dough and set aside.  That portion will be the vanilla dough.
9. To the dough remaining in the mixing bowl, add the chocolate mixture and beat until fully incorporated.  This forms the chocolate dough.
10. Form the vanilla dough and chocolate dough into balls and slice each ball into two equal halves.
11. On a sheet of waxed paper, roll vanilla dough into a rectangle around 7” in width and 8” in length.  Repeat with the chocolate dough.
12. Flip rolled chocolate dough onto vanilla dough and peel off waxed paper.  Lightly press the surface with a rolling pin to adhere both the vanilla and chocolate dough.
13. With the short end facing you, roll the dough tightly into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator.
14. Repeat procedure with other half of vanilla and chocolate dough to make the second cookie log.
15. After about 30 minutes take the logs out of the refrigerator and roll on the counter to retain the circular shape and prevent one side from flattening.
16. Wrap tightly again in plastic wrap, place in freezer-safe container and freeze for about an hour or store in freezer and bake as needed.
17. When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 325 F.
18. Thaw cookie log just slightly and slice to about ¼ thickness with a sharp knife.
19. Place cookie slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
20. Remove cookies from pan and place in cooling rack to cool.

 

 

Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies Recipe and Tutorial