Spiral cookies or pinwheel cookies – I have been eyeing this recipe for spiral cookies for a while now. They are so pretty and look so homely and nice right? That’s what actually got me started on this quite messy yet great decision to try them myself.
Disclaimer: I am not very artistic. I believe artistic people can make food look nicer and this is especially true for desserts and some bakes.
That really didn’t discourage me though. I have step-by-step pictures and although my cookies didn’t turn out as smooth and spirally as SJ’s, they still wow-ed a lot of a people and tasted great.
Other cookie recipes you may like – chocolate melting moments, microwave chocolate chip cookie, banana oatmeal cookies.
We need to prepare 2 batches of dough and since each require 1/2 an egg yolk, let’s get that out of the way.
Step by step pictures:
Lightly beat an egg yolk and set aside. We will later halve this.
Melt (or bring to room temperature) 1/2 cup unsalted butter and add 1/2 cup sugar to that. Beat until well combined.
Add 4 drops of vanilla essence to this along with a pinch of salt. Mix well. Now add half the beaten egg yolk and 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour.
Mix well to form a soft dough like so. Don’t knead, just incorporate with fingers and bring together.
For the chocolate dough, do the same with the butter and sugar, but omit the vanilla and add 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix well.
To this, add 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour. If you find the dough too soft, you can add a couple of spoons of flour. I didn’t have to add extra though.
Again, combine well with fingers to form a soft dough. No need to knead. Heh.
Now, refrigerate both doughs for 30 mins. Take out your book and read while you wait. If you are impatient like me, go take a nap and you won’t feel the time pass.
After 30 mins, take out the chilled dough, transfer to a floured surface and roll out as above. This is not going to be the easiest thing to do. I later heard that if you do the rolling between plastic sheets or butter paper, it makes things very easy. Do try that because in this method, there were a lot of broken pieces that I had to patch in later.
Gently transfer the chocolate layer and place it over the vanilla layer. I used a spatula – say hi to my fave steel spatula.
I know this doesn’t look perfect. That’s ok. Trust me on this and let’s carry on.
Now, roll the flour from the short end, gently, covering up as many split areas as you can. Its ok even if the layers are not ultra-smooth and imperfect. Like I said, wait for the end-result and you’ll see.
SJ mentions refrigerating at this point but I was super-charged after my nap so I ignored that.
Cut gently into 1/2″ discs. Look at that!
Are they pretty or what?! I didn’t use a sharp enough knife which is why the biscuit sides are not as smooth as I’d have liked them to be. Anyway, lesson learned.
Here’s another look. I couldn’t get over how pretty they looked. It was almost like when I saw the Taj Mahal for the first time. Almost.
Note the huge hole on the top of my dough log? It doesn’t matter if you get a similar one. Keep cutting and ignore that. Everything will turn out fine.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F/180C for 15 mins until the white part of the cookies turn a light golden brown.
Now that you ask, I have no clue how’d I find out if this cookie is done if it were all chocolate. I guess I’d go by the smell and time on original recipe as I did for my chocolate melting moments.
Here’s the recipe again, all in one place.
Recipe for Spiral CookiesMakes: 28 cookies (approx.)
Ingredients:
For the Vanilla Dough:
1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 egg yolk, beaten
4 drops of vanilla essence
A pinch of salt
For the Chocolate Dough:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 egg yolk, beaten
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions:<
1. Start with the vanilla dough. Beat the until and sugar until well incorporated. Add the egg yolk, salt and vanilla essence to this. Mix again.
2. Add the flour next and mix well to form a soft dough.
3. For the chocolate dough, beat butter and sugar, add the cocoa powder and mix well without any lumps. Then add the egg yolk and mix well. Finally, add the flour and mix well to form a soft dough.
4. Refrigerate both doughs for 30 mins.
5. After 30 mins, roll out gently into flat squares (as square as you can make it). Place the chocolate layer over the vanilla layer. Roll out from the short end gently.
6. Cut into discs of 1/2″ thickness and bake and transfer to a greased or lined cookie sheet.
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350F/180C for 15 mins until the vanilla part turns a light golden brown. Keep an eye on the cookies starting from 10 mins, just to be on the safer side.
These spiral cookies, my friends, will wow your friends. Guaranteed!
i made dessert this way but never tried cookies. such a good addition.
Can i make it without using eggs?
Tried this recipe..
needed an extra 2 eggs for the vanilla dough & an extra 1 egg for the chocolate dough. also a heaping tablespoon of butter for each to get the dough to work.
other htan that, turned out yum. Was like sugar-shortbread cookies.
yay!! so glad the easy spiral cookies turned out well for you. eager to see the pics, do share the link 🙂
just made these and I am surprised at how easy it was to bake them!! thanks a lot! put up a pre baked pic on FB!!
wow this looks delish!! I have bookmarked this to try tomorrow!!! thanks for all these super duper easy recipes!!!!
Nags, I tried this cookies yesterday.Came out well.The rolling part was fun. thanks for the wonderfully explained recipe..
Thanks for trying Suhaina 🙂
Yummy cookies,loved all the pics nags…Nice one
Vanilla and chocolate layer,make a pretty combo,looks good…who bothers how it looks when it tastes good!!
Looks real delicious and very very tempting. Beautiful colour combo. Always had an eye on it, everytime I see them in a book. Ur step by step instructions are simply superb.
Aha aha!Sj, the celebrity. Those cookies look gorgeous. I don't know why u kept saying they look bad, there is a hole here and all that. Grr.
Adorable cookies, and great to give as a gift 🙂
I have no doubt that they will wow my friends because they have wowed me now 🙂
Scrumptious spiral cookies!
i can finally access your blog!! you are right, these cookies look awesome. The first (and only time) I made them, I didn't want anyone to eat them! Must say, you have loads of patience to take step by step pics.
These were the first cookies I ever made. AND my first blog post. I love these 🙂
wow, looks great, will definitely try this, I just logged on & see in dash board full of posts, I would have missed this.., couldn't resist not to write a comment
Sakshi, why bother with couriering? I will bake you some fresh when you visit me in SG. What say?
I still remember the taste of the cookies SJ had parcelled me. I am not that good at baking and scared about trying this intricate artistic stuff. Btw Nags do you have plans like SJ to courier some? *grins*
Sakshi, why bother with couriering? I will bake you some fresh when you visit me in SG. What say?
great recipe – i tried it last night and the cookies are delicious! i just substituted whole wheat and brown sugar for the chocolate dough to make it healthier for my daughter – and the contrast of colours is lovely!
That's awesome Nina. Great ideas to make it kid friendly 🙂
Thank to the step-by step documentation. This is really kind of you to do it for your reader.
I am going to try it out soon
ha ha ha say HI to my steel spatula :)…I am laughing here!! :D..
Lovely cookies!..will def make it soon and let you know! 🙂
wow ! what a cookie.. i am wowed too 🙂
looks pretty 🙂 good post..
they look so good ..infact they look just perfect…
yeah they are very pretty…. and not all that complicated… although i dont tell anyone that… i made them too way back when i first started baking!
wow, looks great, will definitely try this, I just logged on & see in dash board full of posts, I would have missed this.., couldn't resist not to write a comment
hmm..i got late but see it there…on my blog
Nags,
I saw this same recipe a few days back in a Bengali cook show, the cookies look great.
Lovely cookies,Nice step by step clicks,delicious one
These were the first cookies I ever made. AND my first blog post. I love these 🙂
i can finally access your blog!! you are right, these cookies look awesome. The first (and only time) I made them, I didn't want anyone to eat them! Must say, you have loads of patience to take step by step pics.
wow!! Those look so gorgeous. Great cookies.
These look so pretty and sound really delicious!
Scrumptious spiral cookies!
Now Nags you did wow me with these cookies , excellent step by step instructions as well
beautiful cookies nags, nice step by step pictorial
Nags – looks awesome as always! Perfect cookies – want to chow down a whole plate of these! Alas…!
they look super delicious!
I have no doubt that they will wow my friends because they have wowed me now 🙂
Cookies look sumptuous…
awesome cookies. Yum!
Lovely Cookies Nags!! Now your cookies inspire me to try!
Adorable cookies, and great to give as a gift 🙂
OOOo. this is super cute. I have to do this when my oven gets fixed (does not look like it is going to happen this year), but this is saved.
Wow so perfect and attractive….
Aha aha!Sj, the celebrity. Those cookies look gorgeous. I don't know why u kept saying they look bad, there is a hole here and all that. Grr.
Hey thanks for trying it out and all those step by step pics- you have a LOT of patience. I just wanted to finish baking them! Parchment paper definitely helps in rolling and refrigerating the rolls firms it up so it won't crumble when you cut.
What patience Nags! And every single snap is wonderful. This step by step guide is very helpful. I'd love to try this out as recently I have been baking cookies successfully … finally. 🙂
Looks real delicious and very very tempting. Beautiful colour combo. Always had an eye on it, everytime I see them in a book. Ur step by step instructions are simply superb.
Looks so so good, i am sure gonna try this too in the christmas cookies season.
SJ's cookies rock !! Thanks for the step-by-step..this has been on my to-do list, and I think I will finally get down to making it this weekend, for my lil one's bday – a good enough reason to make these…
haaah…sigh!1
Sakshi had led me to SJ's blog when she had got a parcel n posted about it…( good memory of mine when it comes to food)…i though this SJ seems to be a great cook then…later found out she is an artist , a scientist, a crafts person n what not….i never tried these as whenever i have attempted with cookies it has been a day of only cookies n no food for both of us…..freshly baked cookies are like an addiction….n these are so with the looks too…great post..
i'll do something today that i have been procrastinating for long n let you know…
Lovely spiral cookies, had made them long time back. Actually it's been ages I made any cookies..lazy me.
Looks perfect, was it crunchy or chewy?
Yummy cookies,loved all the pics nags…Nice one
lurvvvvly!
Awesome … looks too good .. nags . These
cookies reminds me of zebra cakes ..
Ha! I know the amazing taste of this cookies! But I like warm so everytime I MW for few seconds..and taste…heavenly! 🙂
Sharmilee – they were somewhere in between 🙂
sangeeta – what are you upto?? 🙂
Raks – they taste awesome!! 🙂
Arch – I have bookmarked three recipes from your space, so stay tuned and watch out 😀
Vanilla and chocolate layer,make a pretty combo,looks good…who bothers how it looks when it tastes good!!