Here’s a fun, Halloween variation of my favorite lunchbox pinwheel cookies. I love these for their fun, retro aesthetic but they also have great chocolate flavor and a sandy shortbread-like texture. The perfect Halloween lunchbox treat!
Halloween Pinwheel Cookies
Halloween Pinwheel Cookies
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 egg white at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups flour
- orange food coloring
- any halloween sprinkles, for edges (optional)
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium for 3 minutes (scrape the bowl down halfway through!). Reduce mixer speed to low and add egg white and vanilla. Add flour gradually. Dump out dough onto a clean surface and use your hands to gather it up in a ball. Cut in half. To one half, add orange food color until the dough reaches your desired shade of orange. To the other half, add the cocoa powder.
Cut out four pieces of parchment paper or use pre-cut sheets. Place orange dough on top of one sheet of parchment and top with another piece of parchment. Use rolling pin to roll down dough into a rectangle-ish shape 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with chocolate dough (try to make the same sort of general shape as the vanilla). Stack the slabs on a sheet pan and place them in the fridge for just a few minutes to make them easier to handle. Once they have chilled briefly, take them out and peel the parchment off of the top of orange slab. Do the same with the chocolate slab and then lay the bare sided chocolate slab right on top of the orange. Peel the top of the parchment off of the chocolate slab. Start rolling up the dough up in a spiral along the long side of the dough, taking care to keep the roll as tight as possible.
Transfer roll to a piece of plastic wrap and wrap the ends tightly like you’re wrapping a big piece of candy. If you plan to bake right away, placing the log in the freezer for 20 minutes or so will help you get neat slices. Alternatively you can freeze the log completely if you plan to use another time, but leave it on the counter for 20-30 minutes to soften slightly before slicing or the log will crumble.
In either case, when you are ready to bake preheat the oven to 350°. Use a sharp knife to slice 1/4 inch slices from the log. Roll the edges in the sprinkles and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pans top-to-bottom and front-to-back halfway through.
Recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Do-Almost-Anything Cookie Dough.
laretrorecipe.com 