Description
These Swirled Christmas Cookies are festive, soft, and tender butter cookies featuring colorful red and green swirls with a delightful burst of Christmas sprinkles. Perfect for holiday celebrations, they combine almond and vanilla flavors with a fun spiral design that adds a special touch to your cookie platter.
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)
Decoration
- 1 cup Christmas sprinkles (nonpareils recommended)
- Red gel food coloring
- Green gel food coloring
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the unsalted butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for several minutes until the mixture lightens in color and becomes 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, scraping the bowl as necessary.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Add flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt to the butter mixture. Mix at low speed just until incorporated, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl thoroughly.
- Divide and Color Dough: Divide the dough evenly into three portions (~10 oz. or 305g each). Leave one portion plain, color one green, and one red using gel food coloring. Flatten each into a rectangle about 1/3 inch thick and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
- Chill Dough: Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, freeze for 10 minutes, or chill overnight. If chilled overnight, allow dough to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) approximately 30 minutes before baking. Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Roll Out Dough: Unwrap each dough portion and roll on plastic wrap to about 7×12 inches. Stack dough in order: green on bottom, plain in middle, red on top on parchment paper. Gently roll with a rolling pin to adhere layers and trim edges to even out.
- Form Spiral Log: Cut one long side of dough at an angle for a spiral effect. Roll dough tightly from the angled edge into a log, sealing seam by gently pressing dough to avoid separation.
- Coat with Sprinkles: Pour Christmas sprinkles on a rimmed tray and roll or press the cookie log into sprinkles until completely coated.
- Slice Cookies: Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 1/3-inch thick slices. Keep the dough cold; if it softens too much, chill for 15-30 minutes before slicing. Arrange slices about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake Cookies: Bake one tray at a time in the oven’s middle rack for 12-14 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through to ensure even baking. Remove cookies just before edges brown as they will firm while cooling.
- Cool Cookies: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store and Serve: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Enjoy these colorful and tender holiday treats!
Notes
- This recipe yields approximately 20 swirled cookies; cookie size and thickness impact yield and bake time.
- You can double the recipe to produce more cookies for larger gatherings.
- Use gel food coloring to achieve vibrant colors without altering dough consistency.
- Fully creaming butter and sugar incorporates air, resulting in tender, soft cookies.
- Chilling dough is essential to minimize spreading and maintain cookie shape.
- Cut cookies evenly at about 1/3 inch thickness to ensure uniform baking.
- Remove cookies from the oven before browning edges; underbaking slightly helps keep them soft.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 160 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 70 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
