Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Show: Food Network SpecialsEpisode: All-Star Holiday Cookies

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (57)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(57)

Cook Time:
13 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
3 dozen

Times:

Prep: 45 min
Inactive Prep: 2 hr 0 min
Cook: 13 min
Total:: 2 hr 58 min

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Ingredients

1 batch Sugar Cookies, recipe follows
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies

Directions

Divide the dough in half and add chocolate and vanilla to 1 half and incorporate with hands. Add egg yolk, peppermint extract, and crushed candy to other half of dough and incorporate with hands. Cover both with plastic and chill for approximately 5 minutes. Roll out doughs separately to approximately 1/4-inch thickness. Place peppermint dough on top of chocolate and press together around the edges. Using waxed paper or flexible cutting board underneath, roll dough into log. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Place cookies 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Sugar Cookie:

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
Lindsay Saratoga Springs, NY 12-24-2008
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delicious
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Easy to make, and so delicious! I was working with half a batch of sugar cookies, and didn't have peppermint extract, only... used the candy canes (and no egg yolk), and they turned out terrific.Read more
recipe Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
M Brooklyn, NY 12-24-2008
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Interesting, not your traditional sugar cookie
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I'm a big AB fan and made this after seeing the episode, and it was fairly straightforward and fun to make, especially... rolling and cutting it together. I'm not a big fan of chocolate-mint combos, but the mints melt slightly during the baking and the chocolate taste predominates for a light mint taste. I'm used to making traditional sugar cookies (e.g. American's Test Kitchen recipe), but these were a nice twist on the general cookie recipe. I suggest the following: -Finely break up the mints into a near-powder because they will melt better and not deform the swirl shape. -Go easy on the rolling, they can even be pat out by hand and don't worry if they fall apart, just mush it back together and pat down again. -It's a little hard to tell when they are done because the inside will be slightly softer and the cookies don't really spread out because of thickness, but I though the recipe bake time was good. These are nice holiday cookies, but I wouldn't make them everyday. Enjoy! Read more
recipe Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
Michael Auburn, WA 12-23-2008
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My favorite sugar cookie
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I've always been a big Alton fan. These cookies are fantastic. We made them last year for a Christmas party and they... disappeared moments after we put the plate out.. We almost had a riot when we said we only made one batch. ;-) They're not for the faint at heart, but a few basic sugar cookie guidelines make them a success. Follow the directions, thoroughly chilled dough is your friend, USE A SILICONE PAN LINER when you bake them, and don't pull them off the pan right away. Also, if you don't get the chunks of peppermint candy small enough, they're hard to cut from the log, and as some have noted, interfere with their "structural integrity". Worth the effort! Merry Christmas! Read more
recipe Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
savannah junction city, KS 12-23-2008
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Amazing!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

These cookies were amazing! I baked them on a silicone baking sheet and got wonderful results, all the cookies turned out. My... family loves them and we're making our second batch tomorrow. They are tedious to make but well worth the effort!!Read more
recipe Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
Amy Yelm, WA 12-22-2008
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Not worth the effort.
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

I am a huge Good Eats fan and usually have a lot of success with the recipes. I was excited to make this as a special... Christmas cookie, but it's not worth the effort. It is time consuming, messy and very difficult to put the layers together. The result is a neat looking cookie that is very bland in flavor. Read more
recipe Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
Val Irvine, CA 12-22-2008
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Don't Bother
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

These cookies are so disappointing! They took forever to prepare and the recipe has very little to offer in the way of... helpful hints. Out of the oven, the cookies were tasteless and boring, except for the unpleasant sensation of biting into sticky, half-melted candy canes. Yuck. I had planned to package these up and mail them to grandparents for Christmas, but I tossed them all in the trash instead. What a huge waste of time. Read more