On the third day of Christmas, Jena’s Tiny Kitchen gave to you Peppermint Pinwheels, Rice Krispie Treats and Snickerdoodle cookies.

Yes, you will get a verse of that song every day during the Twelve Cookies of Christmas. These pinwheel cookies are subtly flavoured with peppermint extract, just enough that you can enjoy its deliciousness, without being overwhelmed. And the pinwheel effect looks super cute too.

Sadly, when you add a few drops of red food colouring to white/yellow dough, it doesn’t really turn red, but pink. You could add a lot more red food colouring to give it a more significant red colour, to make it more Christmas-y, but it’s not really necessary.

The dough is quite soft when you first roll it out, which is why I suggest placing in the freezer to help solidify it before rolling the two doughs together. This will make it easier to peel off from the parchment, as well as less sticky to roll up in the first place.

Ingredients

220 grams caster sugar
220 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
260 grams plain flour
1 large egg
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 drops red food colouring
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1. In a free-standing mixer, cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until very light. Stir in the lemon juice.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt). Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Separate the dough into equal halves. Roll one half out in between two pieces of baking paper, then place in the freezer.
3. To the second half of dough, add the red food colouring and peppermint extract and mix well. Once mixed through, roll out the pink dough between two pieces of baking paper. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
4. Remove both cookie doughs from the freezer. Remove the top layer of baking paper from the plain cookie dough, and the bottom layer from the pink cookie dough. Place the pink dough on top of the white. Remove the top layer of baking paper. From one of the long sides, roll the dough into a long sausage using the remaining baking paper. Secure the ends, then place in the fridge for at an hour.
5. Remove from the fridge, and without taking it out of the baking paper, roll it on the counter to remove any flattened areas where it has been sat in the fridge. Return the dough to the fridge for at least 3 more hours, or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
7. Using a sharp knife, cut the cookie dough into 1 cm thick cookies. Placing the cut side down on the baking sheet. Leave at least 5 cm between each cookie. If you run out of space on your baking tray, place the rolled cookie dough back in the fridge while you bake the first batch.
8. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, or until no longer shiny on the top. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the tray for 5 – 10 minutes. Then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Store cookies in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.