Patriotic pinwheel cookies are the perfect red, white and blue dessert for your holiday celebrations. These pinwheel cookies feature layered sugar cookie dough that is rolled with parchment paper, chilled and sliced before baking. If you want beautiful 4th of July cookies that are easy to transport and serve, try this soft pinwheel cookie recipe!
Aren’t these pinwheel cookies gorgeous? I just love their bright colors and swirl design. These sugar cookies are sure to add color to any summer celebration. If you’ve been too intimidated to try a pinwheel cookie recipe, now is the time to give it a go!
Pinwheel Cookie Ingredients
To make these red, white and blue cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients for a simple sugar cookie dough.
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- butter
- sugar
- egg
- vanilla extract
- Red food coloring
- Blue food coloring
Additional supplies:
- parchment paper
- glass jar
- rolling pin
I recommend using a gel food coloring for bright, vivid colors. Wilton offers a royal blue and no-taste red, perfect for this project.
How to Make Pinwheel Cookies
The key to making good pinwheel cookies is to follow some simple tricks including using wax paper for transferring and rolling your dough and making sure your dough is well chilled. You’ll also want to store your dough upright to avoid flat edges.
Once you’ve had a chance to make your simple sugar cookie dough, you’ll want to divide it into three equal sections. Shape one piece of the dough into approximately a 4×2 rectangle and wrap it securely in wax paper. This is your “white” portion of the pinwheel cookie. Place it in the fridge to chill.
Take your other two dough sections and place them in a small bowl. Color one dough portion red and mix until it’s fully incorporated. Repeat this step with the other dough portion, coloring it blue. Add enough dye to get the colors that you want.
Form both red and blue dough into separate rectangles the same way you did with the white dough and put them between wax paper. Refrigerate all dough for 30 minutes.
Place the red dough in between two pieces of wax paper and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick with your rolling pin. Repeat separately for white and blue dough. Peel the top layer of wax paper off of the red dough and then peel the wax paper off one side of the white dough and use the other side to transfer the white dough on top of the red dough. Peel off the wax paper from one side of the blue dough and use the other side to transfer it atop the white dough. Very lightly roll the three layers together.
Trim sides to remove excess. I recommend shaping the excess dough into a log and chilling before slicing and baking with the other cookies. They will still look cool and taste great, they just won’t be pinwheels!
Starting at the shorter end of the rectangle, roll the dough as tightly as possible into a log and wrap in wax paper.
Stand the roll up in a glass in the fridge for 4 hours or freezer for 30 minutes. By chilling your dough upright you can slice a perfectly round cookie instead of having a flat side.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and slice each log into 1/4-inch rounds. Place the rounds about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets, as the cookies will expand when baked. (You may need to do more than 2 batches.)
That is all there is to making pinwheel cookies! It sounds complicated but really it is just a multi-step process that creates beautiful results.
Patriotic Pinwheel Cookies
Patriotic pinwheel cookies are the perfect red, white and blue dessert for your holiday celebrations. These pinwheel cookies feature layered sugar cookie dough that is rolled with parchment paper, chilled and sliced before baking. If you want beautiful 4th of July cookies that are easy to transport and serve, try this soft pinwheel cookie recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter room temp (1 stick)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- red food coloring
- royal blue food coloring
Instructions
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
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In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
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Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Add the vanilla and beat again.
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Add the flour and mix just until combined.
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Remove the dough and separate it into three equal sections.
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Shape one piece of the dough into approximately a 4x2 rectangle (does not have to be exact), wrap it securely in wax paper and place it in the fridge. (This will be the white portion of the cookies.)
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Add other two portions of dough to two separate bowls. Color one dough portion red and mix until it's incorporated. Color the other dough portion blue, mixing again until it's incorporated. Add enough dye to get the colors that you want.
-
Form both red and blue dough into separate rectangles between wax paper as in step Refrigerate all dough for 30 minutes.
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Place the red dough in between two pieces of wax paper and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. Repeat separately for white and blue dough.
-
Peel the top layer of wax paper off of the red dough and then peel the wax paper off one side of the white dough and use the other side to transfer the white dough on top of the red dough. Peel off the wax paper from one side of the blue dough and use the other side to transfer it atop the white dough. Very lightly roll the three layers together. Trim all sides to remove excess dough.
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Starting at the shorter end of the rectangle, roll the dough as tightly as possible into a log. Wrap the log in wax paper. Stand the roll up in a glass to prevent the cookies from getting a flat side. Place in the fridge to for 4 hours or freezer for 30 minutes.
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When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Remove the dough from the fridge and slice each log into 1/4-inch rounds. Place the rounds about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets, as the cookies will expand when baked. You may need to do more than 2 batches.
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Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes until pale golden. Let sit on tray for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes
Makes 18-24 cookies, depending up thickness of cookies slices.
These patriotic pinwheel cookies really are an ideal red, white and blue dessert that works great for 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day or any summer cookout. Because they stack easily and hold up well in the sun or heat, they can be your go-to recipe for that next picnic or potluck. If you love red, white and blue cookies, check out this sugar cookie fruit pizza or these patriotic pudding cookies!
Thank you to Michelle Medlin of The Gracious Wife for sharing this amazing pinwheel cookie recipe! Be sure to visit her blog for more delicious treats.
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