Bring a touch of festive magic to your holiday baking with this chocolate pinwheel cookies recipe, a stunning and delicious addition to your Christmas cookies menu!
These Christmas pinwheel cookies combine buttery vanilla and rich chocolate doughs rolled into beautiful swirls that look as good as they taste. Perfect for a Christmas cookie box, these slice and bake cookies are ideal when you want something elegant yet simple to prepare.
Each batch bakes into perfectly crisp edges with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth center, and decorating them with melted chocolate and sprinkles adds that extra sparkle for the holidays.
Whether you’re filling a gift basket of Christmas treats for friends, baking for a cookie exchange, or making holiday treats for the kids, these chocolate swirl cookies are guaranteed to impress.
Lovers of holiday baking may also like to try these Christmas tree cookies, browse this collection of Christmas cookie recipes, or make one of these elegant pistachio cookies recipes.
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies Recipe
- Pretty Festive Swirls: The elegant chocolate and vanilla layers roll together into a stunning pinwheel pattern, making these cookies as eye-catching as they are delicious and perfect for holiday cookie boxes, dessert platters, or gifting.
- Easy Slice And Bake Convenience: With a make-ahead dough that can be frozen until needed, these cookies are ideal for busy holiday schedules. Simply slice, bake, and decorate for effortless festive treats whenever you need them.
- Buttery Flavor And Soft Texture: Each bite combines the melt-in-your-mouth texture of soft, buttery cookie dough – combined with the deep, chocolatey richness of cocoa. A special treat for the holidays!
Christmas Pinwheel Cookie Ingredients
To make chocolate pinwheel cookies you’ll need the ingredients shown in the image below. I cover a few of the key ingredients here, you can find the specific quantities and steps in the recipe card below.
- Butter: Should be unsalted, and brought to room temperature.
- Chocolate: Use the chocolate you prefer for decorating the cookies: dark, milk, or white chocolate.
- Sprinkles: Get creative with different Christmas-themed sprinkles, or switch them up for different holiday celebrations.
How To Make Holiday Pinwheel Cookies
Here’s a quick overview of how to make chocolate pinwheel cookies. For the full recipe details, including ingredients and measurements needed, scroll down to the printable recipe card below.
You will need 2 bowls, a stand or hand held mixer, baking sheet (or 2), parchment paper and plastic wrap to get started.
Make The Cookie Dough. Whisk dry ingredients together and set aside while you cream the butter and sugar. It should be light and creamy. Once it is, add the dry ingredients.
Mix on low until combined. If the dough feels too dry, add a little milk until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into two portions. Wrap one portion and put it in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
Make Chocolate Dough: Place the remaining portion of dough back into the bowl and add the cocoa and a little milk. Mix until just combined – don’t overwork. Wrap the chocolate cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Roll The Doughs: Take the vanilla dough out of the fridge and place on a large sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough out to a large rectangle shape, about 1/4 thick. Put the dough back in the fridge (on the paper) while you roll out the chocolate dough.
Repeat the process for the chocolate dough. If it is sticky, sprinkle a little flour on both the rolling pin and parchment paper.
Layer The Doughs: Remove the vanilla dough from the fridge and gently place the chocolate dough on top of the plain dough. Use your hands to ease the two rectangles together at the edges.
Use a pizza cutter if you want a neat edge all the way round.
Form The Pinwheel Log: Using the parchment paper as a guide, gently roll the two layers together to form a roll, gently pressing as you go to ensure the layers stick together. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours.
Slice And Bake: When it’s time to bake, preheat the oven, line your baking sheets with parchment paper and remove the plastic wrap from the pinwheel log.
Use a sharp knife to slice the log into rounds between ¼ and ½ inch thick. Place the cookie rounds on the lined baking sheet, leaving space for the cookies to spread.
Bake: Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden. Remove from the oven, leave to cool for 5 minutes on the tray, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate: Once the cookies have cooled, melt the chocolate and using a piping bag or a spoon, drizzle the melted chocolate over one side of each cookie.
Sprinkle some pretty Christmas sprinkles over the melted chocolate and leave to set.
Recipe Tips For Success
Chill and Freeze the Dough Properly: Chilling the dough before rolling helps prevent sticking, and freezing the rolled log for at least 2 hours ensures clean, even slices that hold their beautiful swirl shape while baking.
Avoid Overmixing the Dough: Mix just until the ingredients are combined to keep the cookies tender. Overmixing can make the dough tough and affect the delicate, buttery texture.
Use the Right Thickness When Slicing: Slice the log into rounds between ¼ and ½ inch thick. Thinner cookies bake crisp, while thicker ones stay soft and chewy – so choose your thickness for the texture you prefer!
How To Store Decorated Pinwheel Cookies
These holiday cookies will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.
You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months. Simply wrap them in parchment paper and place in an airtight container. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
To prep these cookies ahead of time, prepare the cookie log and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, thaw the log in the fridge overnight and then slice and bake as per the instructions.
More Christmas Treats You’ll Love
Or find more Christmas food gift ideas here or even more dessert ideas here.
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Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch salt
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 6 ounces milk or dark chocolate chopped
- Christmas sprinkles optional, for decorating
Instructions
- Make The Dough: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a stand or hand mixer to cream the butter and powdered sugar until light and creamy – around 1-2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing on low until combined. If the dough feels too dry and doesn't come together, add a small amount of milk (1 tablespoon at a time) until it forms a dough.
- Divide the cookie dough into two. Wrap one half in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Make The Chocolate Dough: Place the other half back in the bowl and add the cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of milk, mixing until combined evenly. If the dough is dry add another tablespoon of milk – but avoid adding too much milk or the dough will be too wet.
- Wrap the chocolate dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Roll Out The Dough: Place the vanilla dough on a large piece of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll it into a large rectangle shape, between 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch thick. You may need to dust some flour on the parchment paper if your dough is sticky. Use your hands to shape it into a rectangle if needed. Once rolled, place the vanilla dough back in the fridge (on the parchment paper) while you roll out the chocolate dough. Remove the chocolate dough from the fridge and roll into a similar sized rectangle, also 1/4-1/8 inch thick.
- Make Cookie Log: Remove the vanilla dough from the fridge and carefully place the chocolate dough on top of the vanilla dough. Use your fingers to gently align the edges. Using the parchment paper as a guide, roll the two layers together into a cylinder. Press gently as you roll to ensure the two layers stick together (but not so hard the doughs meld together completely).
- Tightly wrap the cookie log in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours.
- When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃). Line 1 large or 2 medium baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Slice And Bake: Remove the cookie log from the freezer. Unwrap the log and using a sharp knife, slice into rounds between 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick.
- Place the sliced cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between them. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden.
- Remove from the oven and leave the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate: Melt the chopped chocolate in the microwave or on the stove. When using the microwave, stir every 30 seconds to prevent the chocolate burning. Using either a piping bag or a spoon, drizzle the chocolate over half of each cookie. Sprinkle Christmas-themed sprinkles over the chocolate before it sets.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
- Butter temperature: Ensure the butter is at room temperature to make
creaming with the sugar easier. - Handle the dough gently: If the dough becomes too soft while rolling out,
chill it for a few more minutes to prevent tearing. - Chocolate dough consistency: Add the milk gradually to the cocoa dough to achieve a firm but manageable texture.
- Use a sharp knife: To get clean, uniform slices, cut the cookies with a sharp knife. Clean the knife between slices if needed.
- Refreeze if necessary: If the cookie log loses its shape while slicing, place it
back in the freezer for a few minutes before continuing. - Don’t overbake: Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as the edges are lightly golden to avoid drying them out.
- Creative decoration: You can vary the sprinkles based on the occasion (not just Christmas but also Easter, Halloween, New Years Eve…).
- Storage tips: Store the cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh.
They can last up to a week at room temperature or longer if frozen.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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