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Eggless Icebox Christmas Pinwheel Cookies on a cake stand.
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Eggless Icebox Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

These Eggless Icebox Christmas Pinwheel Cookies are our family’s new favorite Christmas cookie recipe! They’re crisp and buttery, and so fun to make. Great for gifting or leaving out for Santa. 
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
cooling time 3 hours
Total Time 44 minutes
Servings 48 cookies
Calories 88kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Stir together flour, and baking powder in a bowl.
  • Beat together butter, granulated sugar, cream cheese, and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
  • Reduce the speed of the electric mixer to low and add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until dough just comes together in clumps.
  • Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Gather and press dough together with your hands. Then divide into 3 equal pieces (approx. 326 g each piece).
  • Shape one piece of the dough into a disk and wrap it securely in plastic wrap. This will be the white layer.
  • Return one of the pieces of dough to a mixing bowl, and with the mixer on "low," add in the red food coloring until it reaches your desired color. Remove from bowl, shape into a disk, and wrap it securely in plastic wrap.
  • Add the final piece of dough to a mixing bowl, and with the mixer on "low," add in the green food coloring until it reaches your desired color. Remove from bowl, shape into a disk, and wrap it securely in plastic wrap.
  • Refrigerate all 3 disks for 1 hour. Remove the dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface roll out each disk into a 4 x 6 inches rectangle.
  • Starting with the white dough as the base, stack the rectangles on top of one another. Run the rolling pin over the stack a few times to make sure everything is even. Then keep rolling to create a rectangle of 13 x 10 inches.
  • Starting from the long side, roll up the dough stack tightly to create a log. Cut the log into 3 pieces. Roll each log in coarse sugar, coating it evenly, if desired. Wrap logs with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours up to a month. 
  • Position two oven racks, evenly spaced, in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Using a sharp knife, cut the log into ¼ inch thick slices. Arrange slices on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them evenly. Keep the remaining logs in the refrigerator until the first batch bakes.
  • Bake for 13 – 14 minutes, or until slightly puffy and the edges look set. Let them cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the baking sheets cool down, then bake the remaining cookies.

Notes

 
BASIC ICEBOX COOKIE DOUGH: Follow the recipe up to step 5. Form dough into an 8-inch-long log; wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until firm, 30 minutes (or up to 1 month). Then slice and bake as instructed.
MIX-INS: you can add any mix-ins of your liking, such as chopped nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, citrus zest, etc… Read above for more ideas.
MAKE-AHEAD: You can refrigerate the cookie dough for up to 1 month before slicing. 
STORE: Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
FREEZE: To freeze, just tightly wrap the logs in plastic wrap, then into freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months, then let it thaw in the refrigerator before slicing.
Variations You Can Apply to This Recipe
This recipe is so simple and so easy to change up!! Here are some other ways we enjoy making icebox cookies by using the same base recipe and modifying it just a bit.
  • Vanilla: follow the recipe up to step 5. Form dough into an 8-inch-long round; wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until firm, 30 minutes (or up to 1 month). Then bake as instructed.
  • Chocolate: use 1/3 cup cocoa powder in place of 1/3 cup flour; add 6 ounces of finely chopped bittersweet chocolate to the base dough, along with the flour in step 3.
  • Vanilla/Chocolate: Follow the recipe up to step 3. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Place half of the dough back into the mixing bowl. Add the 3 tablespoons (22.5 g) cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) milk, and 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional). Beat on low speed until dough is combined. Then continue following the instructions.
  • Pistachio: add 3/4 cup of chopped pistachio to the base dough, along with the flour in step 3. You can also substitute pistachios for any other nut of your liking.
  • Cranberry: add 1 cup of dried cranberries to the base dough, along with the flour in step 3. You can also substitute dried cranberries for any other dried fruit of your liking.
 
If you're making this recipe, please read the whole post content to get lots of tips, tricks, variations, frequently asked questions, and step-by-step photos. Also, before you get started, I recommend reading my Beginner’s Guide to Eggless Baking and my FAQs section.  
 
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Please note that nutritional information is a rough estimate, and it can vary depending on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 88kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 20mg | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.4mg