Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies are a Christmastime classic. They are sweet, buttery, and melt in your mouth delicious. Making these festive swirl cookies from scratch is a lot easier than you think. They are a simple slice-and-bake cookie — meaning no cookie cutters needed!

Include these Chocolate-and-vanilla cookies as part of a cookie exchange on your holiday baking list, in a holiday cookie box to gift to family and friends, or for any time of the year. You will find yourself baking these over and over again!

Why You'll Love these Pinwheel Cookies

• Easy to make. There are no special skills needed to make these chocolate swirl cookies. You’ll just need a few ingredients and about 15 minutes of preparation time using standard kitchen tools before rolling and chilling the dough for a few hours. Once the log has firmed up sufficiently, you'll slice and bake the cookies for ten minutes.
• Made with simple baking staples. You won’t have to hunt down any specialty ingredients to make these slice and bake cookies — everything you need is likely already in your pantry or can easily be acquired from your local grocery store.
• Festive for Christmas. These pinwheel cookies are one of many cookies that mark the holiday season, which makes this the perfect recipe to bust out for the office Christmas party or a Christmas Eve dinner with your in-laws. It's gorgeous without too much effort (no cookie cutters needed or icing intricate patterns here!)
• Freezer-friendly. These Christmas cookies are easy to make ahead because you can freeze them before or after baking. I love to just freeze a roll of cookie dough and be ready to bake a batch whenever I please. Some other freezer-friendly holiday cookies to bake are M&M Christmas Cookies, Soft and Chewy Ginger Cookies, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, and Gingersnaps.

Ingredient Notes

To make this holiday Pinwheel Cookies, you will need the following ingredients (full measurements in recipe card below):

• all-purpose flour - a gluten free measure-for-measure flour will make these cookies friendlier to those with gluten sensitivity, but it may change the texture.
• baking powder
• salt - a finely ground salt is best for cookie dough. A coarse or flaked salt will result in inconsistent flavor — some bites will be too salty, some will be bland.
• butter - setting the butter out to come up to room temperature is incredibly important in almost any cookie recipe — cold butter won’t cream with the sugar easily and warmed butter will change the texture of the dough.
• sugar - any granulated sugar should work. Use coconut sugar, raw sugar, or an equivalent sugar substitute if you prefer. The taste will change slightly depending on what you use.
• eggs
• vanilla extract - you can use a standard alcohol-based vanilla extract or use a vanilla bean paste at equal measure.
• unsweetened chocolate - also known as baker’s chocolate. You could also use dark chocolate or bittersweet, though you may have to adjust the sugar measurement to make sure the cookies aren’t overly sweet.

Equipment needed

You will also need the following baking equipment and tools:

• measuring cups and spoons
• mixing bowl
• stand mixer or hand mixer
• parchment paper
• rolling pin
• plastic cling wrap
• knife
• half sheet baking pan
• wire cooling rack

How to Make the Best Pinwheel Cookies

1. Melt the chocolate. Melt the chocolate either on the stove or in the microwave. Then, set the chocolate aside and allow it to cool slightly.

2. Make the cookie dough. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, add butter and use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and continue to beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and egg and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and beat until combined.

3. Divide. Divide the dough in half. In one half, pour in the cooled melted chocolate. Use the mixer to beat it until just incorporated. You will have one white dough and one chocolate dough.

4. Roll the dough. Take the white dough and place on a large sheet of parchment paper. Use your hands to shape it into a square rectangle about 4 inches long. Place another large sheet of parchment paper on top, and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a large rectangle that is ½-inch thick. It should measure roughly 9x7-inches.

5. Repeat. Repeat with the chocolate dough.

6. Chill. Transfer parchment paper with the rolled out dough inside into the fridge and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

How to Roll and Slice Pinwheel Cookies

1. Combine layers. Once chilled, place the white dough and the chocolate dough on the counter. Carefully peel off the top layer of parchment paper on each. Take the chocolate dough and careful flip it over on top of the white dough.

2. Press together. Use a rolling pin and give it a couple gentle rolls to get the 2 pieces of dough to stick together. Remove the parchment paper off of the top of the chocolate layer.
3. Smooth it out. Use a knife to cut along the edges to create a smooth rectangle.

4. Roll. Carefully pinch one side of the dough (on the longer side) and roll it in to form a log.

5. Wrap. Place the log on a piece of plastic cling wrap and wrap it tightly. Twist the ends to secure it tightly.

6. Chill. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it on the counter (still in the plastic cling wrap) to smooth out the flattened area on the bottom and make it round. Transfer the dough back to the refrigerator for 2 hours until firm. You can also place in the freezer for about an hour to speed up the process.
7. Slice. Remove the plastic cling wrap from the dough  and use a knife to slice the log into ¼-inch slices.

Baking Cookies

Line a large half sheet baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Transfer the slices to the lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1.5-inches apart.

Bake the cookies in a 350F preheated oven for 9-11 minutes until just starting to brown on the edges. Allow the cookies to cool in the baking pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

How to Serve

Nothing says cookies better than a tall glass of milk or a warm drink. Some of my favorite cozy drinks to serve alongside these cookies are:

• Peppermint Hot Chocolate
• Golden Milk Turmeric Tea
• Ginger Turmeric Tea
• Non-Alcoholic Eggnog
• Coffee

Storage and Freezing Instructions

How to Store

Once the cookies have cooled completely, transfer them to a sealed plastic bag or tupperware lined with parchment paper and store at room temperature for up to 7 days.

How to Freeze

Freezing baked cookies. Freeze the baked cookies between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

Freezing cookie dough. Freeze the entire uncooked entire log wrapped tightly in plastic cling wrap and then placed in a freezer bag. When ready to slice, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight to make it easier to slice. You can also freeze sliced cookie Dough between layers of parchment for up to 3 months.

More Cookie Recipes

• 50 Best Cookie Recipes
• Slice and Bake Pecan Shortbread Cookies
• Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Butter Cookies
• Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies