Description
These Chocolate Mint Pinwheel Cookies combine festive green mint-flavored dough layered with rich chocolate dough, rolled into a beautiful pinwheel pattern. Soft, buttery, and infused with refreshing peppermint, these cookies are perfect for holiday gatherings or any time you want a delightful treat with a pop of color and flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons (16 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
Wet Ingredients
- 2 sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at cool room temperature
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
Other
- ¼–½ teaspoon green gel food coloring (preferably Americolor Forest Green or Leaf Green)
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and well combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
- Add Egg and Extracts: Add the egg, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat until fully incorporated, then scrape the bowl again for consistent blending.
- Combine Dry with Wet: On low mixer speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix just until incorporated to avoid overworking the dough.
- Divide and Color Dough: Split the dough into two halves. Place one half in a small bowl and add green gel food coloring a little at a time (starting with ¼ teaspoon), mixing until evenly green. Adjust coloring as desired. Add the cocoa powder and milk to the remaining plain dough and beat on low speed until combined.
- Shape and Chill Dough: Form each dough half into a small rectangle wrapped in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm yet pliable, about 1 hour.
- Roll Out Dough: On a silicone-lined baking mat topped with parchment paper, roll each dough half into an 8×14-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Keep covered with plastic wrap. Chill in fridge or freezer for about 10 minutes until dough is firm but pliable.
- Assemble Pinwheel: Remove plastic from green dough and place on fresh parchment. Peel off cling parchment attached to dough. Layer the chocolate dough on top of the green dough, aligning edges closely, pressing together to eliminate gaps. Trim to even rectangle if needed.
- Roll into Log: Using the parchment under the green dough as a guide, roll the layered dough tightly into a log. Wrap in parchment or plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
- Prepare to Bake: Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the chilled dough log from freezer. Trim edges, then slice into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange slices 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Place sheets in fridge or freezer while preheating oven.
- Bake Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes until set. Keep in mind the bottoms may be slightly flat but they will bake up round.
- Cool: Transfer baking sheets to cooling racks for 2 minutes on the sheet, then move cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
- Store: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Note: cookies soften the longer they sit.
Notes
- Use gel food coloring for the best results; Americolor Forest Green provides a classic Christmas green, while Americolor Leaf Green is more vibrant.
- Parchment paper wrapping during rolling creates a smooth dough exterior, ideal for neat pinwheels.
- It’s okay if the dough halves are not perfectly equal; just aim for a nice contrast between mint and chocolate layers.
- Allow the dough to chill properly; this helps with easier rolling, slicing, and maintaining the pinwheel shape during baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 40mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 17g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 1.5g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
