Chocolate Mint Pinwheels: Getting the Perfect Spiral

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels
I'm so proud.

Pinwheel cookies are a classic.

And everytime I  would make them, they looked like a 2 grader's art project (not dissin' 2nd graders, mind you).

Basically, no matter how much I would love to believe that the problem was somehow the recipe, the truth is I was too lazy to take the time to properly prepare pinwheels.

AND I really needed to invest in the proper equipment:

really high tech stuff here
paper towel roll, cut
up the side

TA-DA!!!! ...you'll need two of these, Big Spender (or cut a wrapping paper roll in half).



**If you are new to this blog, then I should explain that sarcasm is the highest form of humor for me and you should probably realize that I take myself the least serious of all entities presented herein. In other words, lighten up, Bobby Jo.


The recipe I am using today is for a chocolate peppermint cookie. Freakin' festive.

I broke down the recipe into to smaller batches of dough because I felt it was a bit annoying to have to hand-mix so many ingredients once the dough was divided so plan on measuring out two of the ingredients...
You'll need two piles of these ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1tsp milk

In two bowls, measure out these dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

To one batch add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/3 cup melted chocolate chips. To the other batch, add 1 tsp peppermint extract.



You will also need 1/2 cup of crushed up starlight (peppermint candy) mints that you've crushed to bits. Just unwrap some, put them in a ziploc bag and beat the hell out of them. Measure out a half cup; if there is extra, save it to sprinkle on your next mug of hot chocolate.

chocolate dough
mint dough
crushed mints
plastic wrap underneath

Ok, so after following the creaming method, you should have two doughs--one chocolate and one mint. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.




When you are ready to assemble the pinwheels, unwrap the chocolate dough and cut it in two. but keep the plastic wrap. Dust the plastic with some flour and roll out one half of the dough on the the plastic. Repeat this step with the mint dough and then place the mint on top of the chocolate dough. Work quickly as you can so the dough doesn't warm up too much. The plastic wrap will make it easier to transfer and roll the dough together.

Use the plastic to help
roll the dough up 

Once you have the two doughs together, dust the top of the mint dough with half of the crushed peppermints. Press in lightly.

Now, using the plastic to help keep things tight and even, roll the doughs together. Use a pastry brush to remove any excess dough from the chocolate side as you roll so the dough will stick together better.  When you have completely rolled the dough, change out the plastic with a fresh piece of plastic wrap (because all the flour on the old piece will make the plastic "un-sticky" (*that's a word, right?). You want to be able to twist up the ends of the plastic so help tighten the roll.

Twist the ends tight.

roll roll roll the dough
so your cookies aren't
square. Merrily
merrily merrily
merrily, bake more
if you dare....

Now slide the cardboard tube over the dough and roll it around a bit to help the dough round out a bit. Place the whole contraption on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer while you repeat the whole process with the second half of the ingredients.





Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350. Prepare your cookie sheets for baking and get your self a nice sharp little knife.

place two inches apart
to bake

the finished product

Slice the dough with your sharp little knife, rolling the tube a bit if you need to to keep the cookies round. Cut 1/2 inch slices and bake for 9-11 minutes, depending on your oven.



Cool on a cooling rack before packing in an airtight container for up to a week. Because these contain candy, I hesitate to suggest you can freeze them because generally, that makes the candy bits sticky in a yucky way.