Vanilla Bean Strawberry Pinwheel Cookies
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment
- 2 Mixing bowl
- 1 Fine mesh sieve
- 1 microplane or paring knife
- 1 Silicone spatula
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 2 sheet parchment paper
- 1 ruler
- 1 sharp knife or bench scraper
- 2 rimmed baking sheet
- 1 wire cooling rack
- 1 plastic wrap roll
Ingredients
- 170 gram unsalted butter softened
- 150 gram granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 260 gram all-purpose flour sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoon whole milk divided
- 80 gram freeze-dried strawberries ground to a fine powder
- 30 gram powdered sugar
- 1-2 drop red gel food coloring optional
Instructions
- Cream the butter and granulated sugar in the stand mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla bean paste, and almond extract until smooth, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixer on low speed, mixing just until a soft dough forms.
- Divide the dough evenly into two bowls by weight.
- Leave one half plain vanilla and mix in 1 tablespoon milk to make it supple.
- To the second half, add strawberry powder, powdered sugar, remaining 1 tablespoon milk, and optional gel color, mixing just until uniform.
- Pat each dough into a 6x8 inch rectangle, wrap in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll the vanilla dough between parchment to a 9x12 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
- Roll the strawberry dough between parchment to the same 9x12 inch size.
- Stack the strawberry sheet over the vanilla sheet, peeling parchment carefully and aligning edges.
- Gently roll over the stacked dough with the rolling pin to fuse the layers.
- With the long side facing you, trim edges to square the slab and reserve scraps.
- Tightly roll the slab into a log, using the parchment to help create a snug pinwheel spiral.
- Wrap the log in parchment, twist the ends, and chill until very firm, at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment.
- Unwrap the log and slice into 1/4 inch rounds with a sharp knife, rotating the log every few cuts to keep it round.
- Arrange cookies 2 inches apart on prepared sheets.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10–12 minutes until set, edges just barely golden.
- Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
For the cleanest spiral, keep both doughs similar in softness before stacking; if one is firmer, let it sit a few minutes at room temperature. Grinding freeze-dried strawberries to a fine powder in a blender yields the brightest flavor without excess moisture, and you can sift out seeds for a smoother dough. If the log becomes sticky while slicing, re-chill for 10 minutes. To prevent flat sides, roll the wrapped log on the counter a few times after slicing the first few cookies. Flavor swaps like raspberry or cocoa work well—replace strawberry powder with 20 g cocoa and add 10 g more sugar. Baked cookies keep in an airtight container for 5 days, or freeze the dough log up to 2 months.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!