Cranberry-Orange Pinwheel Cookies
A soft pinwheel cookie with a burst of festive color from the cranberry and pecan filling.
You might remember these from last year. They’re a tradition in this house. An absolute must. When I asked The Mr recently what his top 5 favorite cookies were, these were on the list. Of course he couldn’t even give me a list of 5 but that’s not the point. I’ve been making them for Christmas easily the last 6 years or more.
I like making these for the aromas. The orange zest and cranberries give off wonderful fragrances. How something smells is just as important as how it looks and tastes, to me anyway. And these smell incredible. They also have a nice light taste. You can eat cookie after cookie without having a heavy feeling in your stomach like certain other desserts can cause.
These require more work than the average cookie but the end result is worth it. Be sure to check out my tips below for an easier time making these.
Cranberry-Orange Pinwheel Cookies
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1 C fresh cranberries
- 1 C pecans
- 1/4 C light brown sugar
Cookie dough:
- 1 C unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 C granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp orange zest, or roughly 1 orange
- 3 C all purpose flour
Instructions
- In a food processor; add cranberries, pecans and brown sugar. Blend well until only small pieces remain. Set aside or cover and chill until needed.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add baking powder, salt, eggs and orange zest. Beat on low/medium for roughly 1 minute. Dough may be lumpy. Add flour by the spoonfuls, mixing on medium speed until ingredients have come together. Cover and chill for at least one hour.
- Divide dough in half. Place one half between two sheets of wax paper. Roll into a large rectangle roughly 1/4-inch thick. Remove top layer of wax paper. Evenly spread out half of the cranberry filling over dough to 1/2-inch from all sides.
- Begin rolling from one of the short ends. Dough may stick at first. Gently guide dough by pulling up on wax paper. Pinch to seal ends. Transfer rolled dough log to a clean sheet of waxed paper. Roll and tape shut. To prevent flat spots, place dough log in 2 large glasses or wrapped in cardboard paper towel insert.
- Chill at least 24 hours. After several hours, gently roll log to check for any flat spots.
- When ready to bake. Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice 1/4-inch thick slices. Space 1-2-inch apart on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are just turning golden. Let cookies rest on tray for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
- Store in a covered container for up to a week. Remaining dough may be frozen. Label well with any instructions such as type of dough, baking temp, time, etc.
I’m taking some time off and going to visit my parents for a few days.
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Holiday plans …BAKE, BAKE,BAKE! What a great giveaway Rachel. I love those cookies. I don’t have any pecans at the moment but am thinking pistachios. You think they’ll work. These are beautiful cookies!
These pinwheels look gorgeous! :)
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And I tweeted!:)
For the holidays, we have a delicious weekend planned. Hosting dinner on christmas day: Lots of booze, food and a big dessert buffet! ;)
I can’t believe I forgot to bring some of these to work today.
My favorite holiday cookies are cranberry-orange too. I’ve never made pinwheels ones though. They look delicious!
I will NOT be watching that marathon. Ugghh. Can’t stand that movie. No traveling and yes to big meal! :)
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Empty nesters now, we’re planning a lovely Christmas Eve dinner as my kids will be home. Gifts the next morning, and then the kids are off to their dad’s. And, when that happens, our ritual is to catch a new movie and sushi each Christmas. Always a wonderful time.
I followed you! I do what I’m told…. usually.
We go to my parents for Christmas Eve, open gifts, then Christmas Day we open gifts at home and head back to my parents for dinner.
and, tweeted. p.s. your pinwheels look lovely.
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I tweeted ;)
I LOVE cranberry-orange anything!! yummm :)
I shared on FB too :D
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These cookies are so beautiful! I think I’m working Christmas Day, but you probably aren’t surprised about that!
This holiday, we will not have any immediate family in the area. Thinking about taking it easy for a change and just enjoying my husband and our daughters. Maybe some movies, lights on the lake and chillin’.
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My holiday plans had a wrench thrown in them so instead of my usual split between two families in two days, we’ll be heading to meet with the in-laws a few hours away by the beautiful river. too bad it’s warm here. not very xmassy. :( great giveaway!! my processor recently crapped out on me and i’ve been slightly freaking out!!
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My wife and I are going to enjoy spending time with our 3 kids, and we just might pop in our dvd of A Christmas Story.
We’re heading to my brother’s in-laws for a Christmas Eve party, then heading home for a quiet Christmas to ourselves. The best of both worlds.
If anyone changes the channel off of A Christmas Story marathon in my house, they get in big trouble :) It’s funny b/c my mom bought both my brother and I the DVD of ACS bc she knows we like it so much, and 3 years later, both of our copies are still in the plastic b/c we only like to watch it when its on in marathon mode.
Other than that, my parents are coming for the first time to celebrate Christmas w/ my in-laws on Christmas Eve, wish me luck :)
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Just tweeted about the giveaway… tho I really didn’t want to, lowers my chance of winning, haha ;)
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and i tweeted this giveaway! *crossing fingers* merry christmas!!
We have family coming to visit for the holiday
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These look so pretty. I can never get my cookies to stay nice and round. I’ll have to try the glasses trick…
For Xmas, we’re going to the in-laws. We’ll probably eat and drink way too much, but it’ll be awesome.
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Somehow everything tastes better in pinwheel form!
Holiday plans for me include family fun at my parent’s house!