Description
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with these delightful Swirl Cookies that combine a soft vanilla base with a vibrant colored dough, creating a beautiful and festive swirl pattern. Easy to prepare and perfect for sharing, these cookies are buttery, sweet, and adorned with holiday sprinkles for extra charm and crunch.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional tablespoons as needed
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup unsifted powdered sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 2 ½ sticks (about 285g) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional Flavor & Decoration
- ½ teaspoon food coloring of your choice
- Optional ½ teaspoon extra extracts (such as almond or peppermint)
- 1 ½ cups holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Mix 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 evenly blended.
- Add Butter and Vanilla: Gradually add the unsalted butter chunks to the mixer, continuing to mix until the mixture begins to come together. Then add the vanilla extract and mix further.
- Form Dough Ball: Continue mixing until a cohesive dough ball forms, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Divide Dough: Remove the dough from the mixer and divide it evenly into two portions.
- Color One Portion: Return one portion to the mixer, add the food coloring and any extra extracts, then mix until the color is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Roll Dough Portions: Roll each dough portion between two sheets of wax paper to a size of about 11 x 9 inches with a thickness of ¼ inch.
- Chill Dough: Place both rolled dough sheets onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm.
- Assemble Swirl: Remove the wax paper from both dough sheets. Lightly brush the uncolored vanilla dough with water using a pastry brush, then flip the colored dough on top so they align evenly.
- Seal and Trim Edges: Gently press the edges together to seal, then trim the edges with a small knife to create neat, straight lines.
- Roll Dough Log: Ensure the dough is cold but pliable, then roll the long side jelly-roll style into a swirl log.
- Coat with Sprinkles: Spread sprinkles on a large platter, carefully lift the dough log onto it, and roll to coat the outside surface with sprinkles. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or freeze for up to three months.
- Slice and Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Slice the chilled dough into ¼-inch thick slices and place them on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Cool Cookies: Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If the dough feels too wet or difficult to roll after adding the food coloring, add an extra tablespoon of flour at a time to achieve the right consistency.
- Food coloring can sometimes affect dough texture, so adjust flour as needed to maintain rollability.
- These cookies can be frozen at the rolled log stage for up to three months for convenient make-ahead preparation.
- Use a pastry brush to lightly moisten the dough surface to help the two dough layers stick together properly.
Keywords: Valentine's Day cookies, swirl cookies, holiday cookies, festive cookies, vanilla cookies, sprinkles, rolled cookie dough