Is it pure coincidence that one of my favorite holiday cookies is synonymous with joy, new beginnings, and good fortune? Sugar cookies, with their latticework icing and shimmering sprinkles, may get the spotlight on the main stage, but I’d like to pitch pinwheel cookies as the true headliners of any cookie tray. Pinwheels are said to symbolize turning bad luck into good, of transitioning from old to new, and what could be better as we round out the year, doing our best to close it out with a sweet taste lingering on our tongues?
Spinning together two sheets of soft dough, the most common duo tends to be peppermint and chocolate, for obvious reasons. I have trouble resisting the pair myself, often thinking back to my very favorite episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats, where I first learned of this edible art form. Utterly captivated, I watched The Cookie Clause more times than I can count. All through the holiday season, those spiral cookies would play across my tiny bedroom TV, morning or night, and I remained glued to the screen as ever.
I’ve made a few spirals since then, including a summery strawberry version that ended up in the pages of My Sweet Vegan and then Sweet Vegan Treats. However, compared to the myriad cookies I crank out every year, and especially as Christmas draws ever closer, it’s not nearly often enough. To remedy that, I’m swirling warmly spiced gingerbread, ever the wintry classic, with bright lemon cookie dough, enriched with tangy cream cheese and a heavy dose of fresh lemon zest. Yes, I’m currently obsessed with everything lemon thanks to the bounty of my very own beautiful Meyer lemon tree, but that’s a story for another post.
Don’t be daunted by the length of the recipe. Though more involved than your average drop cookie, they save you all the time and hassle of decorating afterwards. Slicing the logs into rounds to reveal the pattern within makes all the planning and prep worthwhile. Pinwheel cookies come out of the oven fully realized as beautiful, rave-worthy gems, the likes of frosting or sanding sugar would only besmirch.
Plan ahead for the greatest success. The considerable downtime between steps makes these anything but fast food. Fortunately, you can press pause and play in the middle of the process, even more easily than on a recording of that beloved TV episode. Tightly wrapped, the dough can keep in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 days and up to 6 months in the freezer. You can slice just a few at a time to always have freshly baked cookies ready at will.
Simultaneously combining gingerbread and lemon in a harmonious pairing, while keeping them separate enough to appreciate each flavor individually, these pinwheel cookies are the best of all worlds. I’m not sure if Alton Brown would be impressed, but I know that my teen-aged self, once drooling over the untouchable idea of such baking artistry, would be proud.
Gingerbread-Lemon Pinwheel Cookies
These festive pinwheel cookies combine the warmth of spiced gingerbread with the bright zing of lemon in a stunning spiral that’s as beautiful as it is delicious. No icing needed; each cookie emerges from the oven fully decorated, ready to dazzle on any dessert tray.
Ingredients
Lemon Cookie Dough:
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Cream Cheese
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Gingerbread Dough:
- 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter
- 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
- 1/4 Cup Molasses
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Seeds
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
- 3/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 Cup Crystalized Ginger, Finely Minced
Instructions
- For lemon cookie dough, place the vegan butter, cream cheese, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to beat until creamy and homogenous. Add the lemon zest and vanilla, mixing again to incorporate.
- Separately, sift he flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together. Add it to the bowl and begin mixing on low speed. Pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl with you spatula as needed, to make sure everything gets incorporated. When fully blended and cohesive, transfer the dough to a lightly flour a silicon baking mat or piece of parchment paper.
- Sprinkle the top lightly with more flour, then cover with a second baking mat or piece of parchment. Roll into a rectangle that measures 12 x 10 inches, about 1/4-inch in thickness. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while preparing the gingerbread cookie dough.
- For the gingerbread, there's no need to wash the mixing bowl or paddle as long as they're scrape clean fairly well. Beat together the vegan butter and brown sugar until creamy and smooth. Add the molasses, ground flaxseeds, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt, continuing to mixing until well combined.
- Add the flour and crystalized ginger, and begin mixing on low speed. Pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl with you spatula as needed, to make sure everything gets incorporated. When fully blended and cohesive, transfer the dough to a lightly flour silicon baking mat or piece of parchment paper.
- Sprinkle the top lightly with more flour, then cover with a second baking mat or piece of parchment. Roll into a rectangle that measures 11 x 10 inches, about 1/4-inch in thickness. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove the top sheets from both doughs and carefully flip the gingerbread dough on top of the lemon, lining up both short side sand one long one. Trim to even out the edges and patch the dough if needed. Beginning from the long end that lines up both doughs flush with the edge, roll the rectangles tightly into a spiral. Use the bottom parchment or baking mat to help, then roll out the wrapped log to smooth out any bumps and gently lengthen it. The full cookie dough log should measure approximately 15 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Keep it wrapped and let rest in the freezer for at least an hour, or until very firm.
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line two baking sheets with a silicon baking mat or piece of parchment paper.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/4-inch slices and place them 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gently reshape them if needed and let rest in the fridge if the oven is still heating.
- Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 18 - 22 minutes, or until edges are just firm and bottom is lightly browned. Let cool completely on the cookie sheet.
Notes
These are excellent make-ahead cookies. Tightly wrapped, the dough can keep in the refrigerator for 3 - 5 days and up to 6 months in the freezer. You can slice just a few at a time to always have freshly baked cookies ready at will.
Recommended Products
Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
32Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 256Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 133mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 5g
All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.
I need to bake a version of these soon!
The fresh citrus and the warming spices sounds like a match made in heaven. These pinwheel cookies would be the first ones to go off the holiday cookie tray.
This cookies feels like the kind of treat that would impress on a holiday tray without needing any extra decoration