Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies are festive holiday treats for family and friends! Colored spirals and light peppermint flavor make them special!
Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer in large bowl. Beat in one egg YOLK and vanilla extract into batter, until combined/creamy.
In separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder. Add to batter, a small amount at a time; mix until combined and thick, soft dough has formed.
Evenly divide dough in half; set one half aside. Place remaining half in large bowl. Add peppermint extract and red food coloring; stir to combine. You have to work hard to mix in red coloring! Keep blending until dough is completely red. Set red dough aside.
Place reserved white dough on a long piece of waxed paper. Use hands to shape it into small rectangle. Place another long piece of wax paper on top. Roll dough into rectangle shape (16" long by 10" wide). Slowly peel off top layer of wax paper; set dough aside. Repeat process with red dough (using clean wax paper), rolling it out to same measurements (16" x 10"). Slowly peel off top layer of wax paper; set dough aside.
You should have a 16"x 10" white rectangle and a red rectangle (each with wax paper on the bottom). Place white dough rectangle in front of you. Carefully flip RED layer over on top of the PLAIN layer, fitting it to the shape of the plain rectangle. Red dough wax paper should now be on top. Slowly peel off wax paper from red layer. Repair any rips or tears that may occur with excess dough.
Using wax paper (on bottom of white rectangle) as a guide, tightly roll up dough, starting with long side. Wrap dough "log" in plastic wrap. Place dough log on a baking sheet; refrigerate dough for 2 hours, then preheat oven to 350°F.
Unwrap dough; place on cutting board. Use sharp knife to cut dough into 1/4" slices. Place slices on lightly greased cookie sheets, about 2" apart.
Bake at 350°F. for 10-12 minutes. Cookies are done when lightly browned on bottom, and dough is "set". Keep an eye on them, because they can brown very quickly. Let cookies cool for 1 minute; transfer to wire rack to cool completely before serving. Enjoy!
NOTE: You should end up with between 36-46 cookies, depending on thickness of slices (and length of dough rectangle you rolled up).
Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies https://www.thegratefulgirlcooks.com/peppermint-pinwheel-cookies/