Halloween Pinwheel Cookies Recipe

Make the Cookie Dough

1. Use an electric mixer to beat the white sugar and butter until they are light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, almond extract, and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl. Continue mixing until they are well combined.
3. Mix the flour with the salt and baking powder in a separate mixing bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, one-third at a time. Mix well in between each addition until all the flour is combined.

Add Color

1. Take the cookie dough out of the mixing bowl and divide it in half.
2. To one half, add 1/4 teaspoon of orange gel food coloring. Knead until the piece is orange.
3. To the other half, add 1/4 teaspoon of black gel food coloring. Mix until well combined, and it is dark black.
4. Put the black dough on a piece of parchment paper and roll it out into a rectangle, about 9 x 15 inches in size. Take another piece of parchment paper and roll the orange dough into a 9 x 15-inch rectangle.
5. Keep the pieces on the parchment paper and place both orange and black dough in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Don't combine the two yet! You can stack them but keep parchment paper between the layers.

Make a Dough Log

1. Take the dough out and place the black rectangle on a cutting board. Lay the orange rectangle on top of the black one, this time with parchment paper facing up, so the two are layered. Carefully peel the parchment paper off the orange layer.
2. Trim the edges to make them even and form a rectangle. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.
3. Roll up the dough, starting at the short edge. Use the parchment paper to help you roll and exert gentle pressure as you go.
4. Wrap the roll of dough in plastic wrap or parchment paper. Refrigerate it for 2 hours before baking the cookies.

Bake the Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, unwrap it and place it on a cutting board.
3. Slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Use a sharp knife and rotate the dough log if it starts to get squished.
4. Bake for 10 minutes. Take the cookie sheets out of the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1-2 minutes. Then place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.