Festive Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe - LifeDoneWell (2024)

There is nothing better than a simple cream cheese cookie. Not just because of the cream cheese, but also the butter! These Apricot Pinwheel Cookies are so easy to make with only four ingredients and a little powered sugar for dusting. Chances are you will have all of these ingredients in your house already.

The only tricky part about these cookies is folding the first one. Once you have the first one done, the rest are a breeze. And the biggest time saver is using a pizza cutter.

What’s the difference between jam and jelly?

The biggest difference between jam and jelly is that jelly is made from fruit juice and jam is made from the fruit. Jam should have chunks of fruit, is think, and holds well for baking. Jelly will run when baking.

We do use jelly when cooking as an ingredient. Both jelly and jam are delicious spread well on bread and as glazes. It really comes down to your personal preference. But as a reminder – always bake with jam.

What is the difference between Neufchâtel and Cream Cheese?

In our home, we only have cream cheese. I consider it a whole food with all the goodness. Basically, Neufchâtel has less fat and a higher moisture content. I feel this effects the texture and thus, balance when baking.

As for taste, I feel that Neufchâtel is less tangy than cream cheese. We cannot, though, confuse the Neufchâtel that we have in America to the original Neufchâtel in France. The French version is a delicious mixture made of milk fat with a bloomy rind and is much like Brie.

Festive Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe - LifeDoneWell (1)

When do you use salted vs unsalted butter?

I always use unsalted butter when baking. This allows you to control the taste of the final product. If you do use salted butter instead of unsalted butter, simply decrease the salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon per 1/2 cup of butter. This is not an exact measurement, but will give you a good start.

Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe

We just love these Apricot Pinwheel Cookies and while they call for apricot jam, you can certainly use another flavor or even mix them up! We like the apricot for the flavor and final color. The only thing you have to remember is to use jam in these and never jelly. They will not hold their shape if you use jelly.

The last thing to remember is that these cookies take just 15 minutes to make, but do require you to refrigerate for an hour.

Festive Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe - LifeDoneWell (2)

Yield: 20 Cookies

Bake: 30 Minutes, plus one hour to rest in refrigerator

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
  • 3 cups flour, plus more for rolling cookies
  • 1 cup apricot jam
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Mix cream cheese and softened unsalted butter in a stand mixer. Add in three cups of flour. Mix well. Wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Place a quarter of the dough on a dough board and roll out to a thin layer. Cut into 2 inch squares. Using a pizza dough cutter, slice the corners lengthwise into the center of the square. Do this on all four corners. Leave some uncut in the middle where the jam will be placed.Festive Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe - LifeDoneWell (3)
  • Put a small amount of apricot jam into the center of the square. Fold in one end of each cut. Place one end into the center then skip the next then do the next one to the center and repeat. Use a little water to press all of them together in the center. This allows them to stay well when baking.
  • Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Place the cookies on a cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar. Store in airtight container.

Festive Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe - LifeDoneWell (4)

Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe

Yield: 20 cookies

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

There is nothing better than a simple cream cheese cookie. These scrumptious and gorgeous Apricot Pinwheel Cookies are so easy to make. There's only four ingredients, plus a little powered sugar for dusting.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
  • 3 cups flour, plus more for rolling cookies
  • 1 cup apricot jam
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    2. Mix cream cheese and softened unsalted butter in a stand mixer. Add in three cups of flour. Mix well. Wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
    3. Place a quarter of the dough on a dough board and roll out to a thin layer. Cut into 2 inch squares. Using a pizza dough cutter, slice the corners lengthwise into the center of the square. Do this on all four corners. Leave some uncut in the middle where the jam will be placed.
    4. Put a small amount of apricot jam into the center of the square. Fold in one end of each cut. Place one end into the center then skip the next then do the next one to the center and repeat. Use a little water to press all of them together in the center. This allows them to stay well when baking.
    5. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Remove cookies to cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar. Store in airtight container.
If you’re looking for more cookie recipes, check out our holiday cookie roundup and our Fruitcake Cookies that can be made year round. We especially love these Shortbread Cookies from Lyuba Brooke at Will Cook for Smiles. They’re another only 4 ingredients recipe!

Festive Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe - LifeDoneWell (5)

Dana Zucker

I am a home cook that does things my way. In my kitchen, I make breakfast, pack lunches, prepare snacks, and cook dinner. During the week, we eat real food that is homemade, organic, and local. On the weekends we do explore more of our local restaurants. I bake my own bread, juice fresh oranges every other day, and make my own kombucha and other weekly favorites.

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Festive Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe - LifeDoneWell (2024)

FAQs

What method is pinwheel cookies are made of? ›

The basic process involves dividing the cookie dough and adding color and flavoring extract to half. The dough is then rolled into rectangles and sandwiched together. Roll them up into a log, then just slice and bake.

How to improve Pillsbury sugar cookies? ›

Mix in tasty ingredients

Take plain sugar cookies up a notch with exciting mix-ins like chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, toasted chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit or M&M's. Add these after blending your butter and egg into the sugar cookie mix. This is our favorite hack for holiday Pillsbury cookie dough.

What's the difference between Mallomars and pinwheels? ›

If you think they sound similar to Mallomars, you're not mistaken. Both feature a marshmallow layer and a chocolate coating, creating a similar balance of flavors and textures. However, Pinwheels distinguish themselves with their pinwheel shape, and chocolate cookie instead of graham cracker base.

What company makes pinwheel cookies? ›

The Chicago Cookie Store - Maurice Lenell - Pinwheels, Raspberry Jelly Swirls, Almonettes, Oatmeal Raisin, Butterscotch Stars, Chinese Almonds, Fudge Brownies, Chocolate Chips, English Toffee Bars.

How to jazz up store-bought sugar cookie dough? ›

This is another really easy store-bought sugar cookie dough hack. Take a lined baking sheet and dump out sprinkles--a lot of them. Roll your cookie dough log in the sprinkles, slice, and bake as directed. For extra color, you can mix in jell food coloring.

Is it better to bake cookies at 325 or 350? ›

350° is the standard temp for a cookie, and it's a great one. Your cookies will bake evenly and the outside will be done at the same time as the inside. Baking at 325° also results in an evenly baked cookie, but the slower cooking will help yield a chewier cookie. The outsides will be a little softer, too.

How to make Pillsbury cookies taste better? ›

My two tricks:
  1. I always let the dough sit and soften/warm up before putting it into the oven -- about 15 minutes.
  2. I sprinkle sea salt and brown sugar on the cookies just after they come out of the oven. Makes them toasty and brings out the delicious, sweet flavor!
Feb 12, 2023

What are the make up methods of cookies? ›

Cookie Dough Makeup

The one-stage blending method combines all ingredients and gently mixes them at a low speed to a uniform batter. The creaming method combines the fat and sugar and blends them together first before adding eggs, liquids, flour, and leavening agents.

What are pinwheels made of? ›

Some are made with tortillas like Ree's make-ahead sandwich rolls, while others use puff pastry or even crescent roll dough—the pepperoni pizza rolls are a must-have for hungry teenagers. Looking to add a pinwheel recipe to your table of Super Bowl recipes?

What is rolled or molded cookie method? ›

Molded cookies are made from a much stiffer dough that can be handled much like clay. Molded cookies are usually rolled into balls or other simple shapes. Peanut Butter cookies are one of the most common molded cookies as most recipes roll the dough into a ball and then press in a crisscross pattern with fork.

What are windmill cookies made of? ›

Enriched flour (wheat, malted barley, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, vegetable oil (canola, palm, palm kernel), sliced almond, water, interesterified soybean oil, invert sugar, spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, mace, cloves, allspice, ginger, cardamom), baking powder (baking soda, ...

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