Description
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with these delightful Swirl Cookies featuring a beautiful two-tone dough infused with vanilla and your choice of food coloring and extracts. Rolled together and coated in festive sprinkles, these buttery cookies are a perfect sweet treat for the holiday or any special occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus a few extra tablespoons if needed
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup unsifted powdered sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 2 ½ sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon food coloring of your choice
- ½ teaspoon extra extract (optional, such as almond or mint)
Toppings
- 1 ½ cups holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until well blended.
- Add Butter and Vanilla: Gradually add the butter chunks while mixing continues. Once incorporated, add the vanilla extract and keep mixing until the dough forms a cohesive ball.
- Divide Dough: Remove the dough and divide it into two equal portions.
- Color One Portion: Return one portion to the mixer and add the food coloring along with any additional extract desired. Mix until the color is evenly distributed. If the dough becomes too wet, gradually add extra flour by tablespoons until manageable.
- Roll Out Dough: Roll each portion between two sheets of wax paper into approximately 11 x 9 inch rectangles, about ¼ inch thick.
- Chill Dough: Place both rolled-out dough sheets on a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour until firm.
- Assemble the Swirl: Remove the wax paper from both dough sheets. Lightly brush the uncolored vanilla dough with water using a pastry brush, then carefully flip the colored dough sheet on top, aligning edges evenly. Press edges lightly to seal and trim with a small knife for straight, even edges.
- Form the Log: Keeping the dough cold but flexible, roll the stacked dough from the long side jelly-roll style to form a swirl log.
- Coat with Sprinkles: Spread the sprinkles on a large platter. Gently roll the dough log onto the sprinkles to coat the outside. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or freeze for up to three months.
- Slice and Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Slice the dough log into ¼ inch thick slices and place on parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake: Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Cool: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- The dough may become too wet after adding food coloring; add extra flour one tablespoon at a time to achieve the right consistency.
- Ensure the dough is well chilled before rolling to maintain structure and ease of handling.
- These cookies can be frozen as a dough log for up to three months, making it easy to bake fresh cookies anytime.
- Use wax paper for rolling out the dough to prevent sticking and for easy transfer to the baking sheet.
- Adjust the size of the slices based on desired cookie thickness and batch yield.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 50mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Fiber: 0.3g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
