Cranberry Orange Pinwheel Cookies

Approx. 3 dozen cookies

Recipe from Pillsbury Cookies, Brownies and Bars

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

It’s that time of year when we make cookies for our friends, family, and, of course, Santa. This is a refrigerator cookie dough recipe, which means these cookies can be baked up to several days after preparing and shaping the dough.  The cookie part is sweet, but the filling is tart. Our friend, Mac, especially loved these “swirly cookies.”  Santa will love them too.

Filling

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

¼ cup whole berry cranberry sauce (Mix the leftover cranberry sauce with some Greek yogurt for a nice snack.)

¼ cup orange marmalade

Cookie Dough

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon allspice

In a small saucepan, combine all the filling ingredients.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, butter and egg until light and fluffy.  Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level off.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, orange peel, salt and allspice; mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap; chill for at least 1 hour for easier handling.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 16 x 8 inch rectangle.  Spoon and spread the cooled filling evenly over the dough to within ½ inch of the edges.  Starting with the 16-inch side, roll up jellyroll fashion (This is where a bench scraper comes in handy); cut in half to form two 8-inch rolls.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or waxed paper freeze at least 2 hours.

The cookie dough is ready to roll into a pinwheel.

Heat oven to 375 F.  Using a sharp knife, cut dough into ½ inch thick slices.  Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.  (I skipped the greasing and used parchment paper.)  Bake at 375 F for 9 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.

Nutritional Information per Serving:

Serving Size = 1 cookie

80 Calories; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fat; 60 milligrams sodium; 1 gram protein