After all the cranberry apple dishes I’ve made so far, I incorporated the same flavors and created pretty pinwheel cookies. The swirl is a lot easier to make than it seems. All you need is sugar cookie dough to roll around the filling. My choice for the filling was cranberry apple butter but you can use any other filling you like.
Don’t get scared by the yield of this recipe! We’re getting prepared for Christmas and make our logs of cookie dough in advance and store them in the freezer. They make great gifts, and the cookies are small and delicious, so they’ll disappear very quickly.
1. Info for Cranberry Apple Pinwheel Cookies
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 100
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Cranberry Apple Pinwheel Cookies
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, (2 ounces)
- 2 Red Delicious apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 3 tablespoons honey, to taste
- 1/2 vanilla bean, slit lengthwise
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shortening
3. Directions:
- Using a paring knife, scrape and gather all the grains of the vanilla bean.
- Wash the cranberries. Pick out and discard any bad ones (discolored, shriveled or bruised). Place the cranberries, apples, honey, grains of vanilla bean, 1/8 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 cup of water in a non-stick saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Skim off any foam that develops on the top. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, until the cranberries have burst. Using a wooden spoon, stir frequently to prevent the cranberries and apples from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Allow to cool, then blend the mixture in a mini-blender (or a regular blender if you don’t have a mini).
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the egg and egg yolk with 1/2 cup of sugar for about 5-6 minutes. You’ll get a pale, yellow foam and the texture of the eggs will be thicker. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
- In a bowl, combine the flours, salt and baking soda. Sift all the dry ingredients.
- Cream the butter with 1/2 cup of sugar (whisk using a stand-mixer to get as much air as possible in the butter). Add the egg mixture, the dry ingredients and the heavy cream. Finish with shortening. Mix well. Divide the dough and roll into 3 (16 x 6-inch) rectangles.
- For each rectangle of cookie dough, spread about 1-1/2 tablespoons of cranberry apple butter stopping 2 inches before the end of the rectangle (the cranberry apple butter will spread eventually until the end). The layer should be very thin so it doesn’t burst on the side when rolled. Roll the dough and form a log. Repeat for the next 2 logs of cookie dough and wrap them in plastic wrap. Chill them in the freezer until firm. It’ll take at least 30 minutes to harden (see storing tips). Slice the logs into ½-inch thick discs. Place the cookies on a baking sheet previously lined with parchment paper. Make sure they are spaced out so they don’t touch each other when they expand.
- Bake for about 5 minutes at 375°F, then lower the heat to 350°F for another 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
- Bon appétit!