Colorful Spiral Cookies

Just try to be in a bad mood around one of these. Impossible!

I was naturally drawn to these because of the bright, eye-catching swirl, not to mention the jumbo sprinkles-encrusted edges!  If anything, these should be the SB mascot, because they are everything I love.  Bright, happy, buttery and delicious. Also versatile!
I spied these first here, (green-tea version) and then here (peppermint version).  I've looked at these countless times, and I'm not sure why I didn't make these earlier.  Maybe because the dough is made in the food processor and I really hate digging / lugging that thing out of my pantry. I soon vowed to make my food processor more accessible because it did all of the work! Now I kinda wish all doughs could be made in the food processor.

Another thing I love about these is that they are SLICE and BAKE. You could easily put the unused portion in the freezer for later. 

I won't go much into preparation here, because that's all in the recipe, but here are some pictures to give you an idea of the process.

I wanted to make my dough even on all sides, so I trimmed some away to make an even roll.

I used Wilton's rose gel food coloring.  I like gel coloring for this because it doesn't add much moisture to the dough. You can use any kind of extract for flavoring.  I used Strawberry, and the whole house smelled like baked strawberry shortcake.  Very yummy!   

You'll then encrust the dough with jumbo (or other) sprinkles.  I cut my roll in half, and rolled one half in smaller sprinkles. The above kinda looks like a sprinkle-coated ham doesn't it?


Speaking of ham...

Some of you may wonder why there are so many pictures of my dog, Biscuit, included in my posts.  The truth is, he is stuck to me like glue!  He never leaves my side, and he always watches patiently in a chair as I work on projects and take photos. While editing photos, I rarely have a group that doesn't include him sticking his head (and nose, see above) where it doesn't belong.  He's never been alone for any extended period of time. I have a day job working from home for a Pathology company, and this has made him my constant companion.

I'll say "Biiiissscuit...no-no!"  and he'll look at me like this...

...and all my disciplinary plans fly out the window.

I think this version turned out cute too, although I really like the larger jumbo non-pariels better.  I realize some people have an aversion to sprinkles, or a mind-set that they are only for kids, or that they just plain taste bad.  Some do taste bad!  The jumbo sprinkles I used are from Wilton. They are fruit-flavored and very tasty, but there are other sprinkles you could use - just think of the variations!  Crushed pistachio nuts with a green-pistachio spiral, or crushed oreos with a chocolate spiral.  I can't wait to try them all!

EDIT: Laurie at Dalla Mia Cucina made them - check out her pretty version. 

I couldn't stop taking pictures, they are just so bright and happy!

I suppose I should stop getting carried away with the photos and post the recipe.  Here it is!


EDIT 12/19/11 -PLEASE READ:
I have reviewed this recipe, and cannot recommend another method other than making it in the food processor.  Making it in the Kitchenaid was problematic and I ended up with a poorly rolled, tough cookie. The cookie itself is a French sable/shortbready-tasting cookie.  It's subtly sweet, so if you are a fan of drop cookies with lots of sweetness and chocolate chips etc., then this may not be the cookie for you.  


NOTE!  Blogger Kate Sullivan tweeted me that she made them in her KitchenAid with success!  
Check out her results HERE.

Colorful Spiral Cookies
Yield: About 3 dozen                                                                               [click for printable version]

2	cups unsifted cake flour
½	teaspoon baking powder
¼	teaspoon salt
⅔	cup unsifted powdered sugar
¼	cup granulated sugar
2½	sticks unsalted butter
1	teaspoon vanilla
½	teaspoon strawberry(or other)extract
½	teaspoon(or more)Rose food coloring
2	tablespoon unsifted cake flour
1½	cups multi-colored nonpareil decors

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugars in a food processor and process briefly to mix. Add the butter in pieces; process with on/off bursts until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Add the vanilla and process until the mixture just forms a ball.

Divide the dough into 2 equal portions then return one of the portions to the food processor. Add the strawberry extract, food coloring, and the extra tablespoons of flour to the processor and process until just incorporated.

Roll out each portion of dough between sheets of waxed paper. You want a rectangle about 11 × 8½ inches by ⅛ inch thick. Leave the dough between the sheets of waxed paper and slide onto a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

Remove dough pieces from refrigerator. Pour the nonpareil decors into a shallow rectangular dish (such as a 9 × 13-inch pan.

Peel off the top sheet of waxed paper from both doughs. Brush the vanilla dough very lightly with water. Using the waxed paper, lift the strawberry dough and flip it onto the vanilla dough so they are stacked. Press with your fingertips to seal the two doughs together. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and trim the edges even.

When the dough is just pliable (but still cold), roll up the dough(begin with the long side) like a jellyroll. As you begin to roll, gently curl the edge with your fingertips so you don’t get any air pockets as you roll dough into a log. As you roll, the vanilla portion may want to tear, pinch tears together as they happen and keep rolling.

After forming the dough into a log, throw away the waxed paper. Gently lift the log on top of the nonpareil decors in the dish and roll until the log is completely coated with decors. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to slice (from 4 hours to a week, or freeze for up to 2 months; defrost in the refrigerator overnight before slicing).

Heat oven to 325°. To bake, slice the log into ⅛- to ¼-inch-thick cookies and bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cookies are no longer shiny on top and the bottoms of the vanilla portion are golden.

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Happy Joyful Baking!

Love,