These cream cheese jam pinwheel cookies are airy, light and buttery with a sweet raspberry jam. Cream cheese dough and jam are swirled together to make a beautiful Christmas design. Sprinkle them with a little powdered sugar to look like snow.
Today is day 10 of the '12 days of Christmas cookies' here on Modern Crumb!
This recipe was first published on December 19, 2020.
I love baking festive looking Christmas cookies.
The ones that, visually, really get you excited for the holidays. And these cream cheese jam pinwheels are just that!
The cookie base for these pinwheels are cream cheese and butter, there is actually no sugar in the cookie dough itself.
They are filled with raspberry jam. But you can fill them with any kind of jam you like. Just make sure the jam is seedless.
Don't feel intimidated by the swirly whirly shape. These are so quick and easy to make. They remind me of jam thumbprint cookies.
My daughter is so impressed with the looks of these cookies, I'm sure you'll have some happy family members if you make these.
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These really are such an easy cookie to make. I know they may seem complicated because of the design, but I assure you they aren't.
When it comes to recipes that I share, if I find it a challenge to get to the end result, then it doesn't get published on my blog.
Originally these were a completely different cookie.
The recipe is one from my mom, something that we used to make as kids at Christmas time. Except they weren't pinwheels, they were a more delicate cookie that was folded.
I adjusted it to work for what I thought would be an easy recipe for my friends on here.
So the pinwheel cookies came to life.
How to Make Cream Cheese Jam Pinwheel Cookies
Here is everything you'll need for these cookies. Are you ready?
Cream cheese, butter, flour, salt and jam. Easy!
The first step is to cream together the cream cheese and butter, this usually takes a couple of minutes. You want it to be fully incorporated together and nice and creamy.
Then, the salt and flour are added. I always sift my flour, so go ahead and sift it first. You can do this in a separate bowl or right over top of your bowl you are already using. No need to add the flour slowly, it all goes in at once. Mix everything together.
Chill the dough for 30 minutes to an hour.
Rolling out the dough will be easy as long as you dust your counter with flour as you go. You'll end up with a big rectangle, like you would when making cinnamon rolls.
The jam gets spread on all over then you roll it up. Again like a cinnamon roll.
You'll need to chill this, so it sets. It's also easier to make your pinwheel cuts if the dough has chilled a bit before slicing. I use sewing thread to make the cuts. Bake and they are done!
For a bit of sweetness you can dust powdered sugar on top after they cool.
Tips and Tricks
Start the dough off by letting the cream cheese and butter soften. Not melted, but softer than they were in the fridge.
While rolling out the dough, halfway through lift the cookie dough up, sprinkle more flour down on the counter and then turn the cookie dough upside down. So that what was facing up, now faces down.
This helps to prevent sticking once you get to the rolling up part.
If your jam is too thick you can put it in a microwave safe bowl and heat it up slowly, this will help to melt it just a bit.
Using sewing thread will help you get perfect cuts, showing off the beautiful spiral. All you do is wiggle the thread under the dough, lift the two sides up, cross the pieces over and pull.
Wait until the cookies fully cool before dusting with powdered sugar.
FAQ
Dental floss will also work.
The dough may need a bit more flour or longer in the fridge to chill. It's quite soft before chilling.
They really need to be chilled, after you've rolled it up like a jelly roll. All that rolling out and time spent on the counter the dough has warmed up. Also, using thread to make your cuts with give you the cleanest lines.
I've had success using Bobs Red Mill 1:1 flour in baking, however I haven't tested it with this recipe so I wouldn't be able to say yes or no.
12 Days of Christmas Cookies
- Christmas Peanut Butter Blossoms
- The Best Pecan Sandies Cookies
- Double Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Brown Sugar Walnut Rugelach Cookies
- Christmas Butter Cookies (Tin Can Cookies)
- Christmas Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
- Raspberry Jam Thumbprints
- Christmas Monster Cookies
- Triple Chocolate Hot Cocoa Cookie Bars
- Christmas Snickerdoodles Cookies
- Cranberry Cheesecake White Chocolate Cookies
Cream Cheese Jam Pinwheel Cookies
These cream cheese jam pinwheel cookies are airy, light and buttery with a sweet raspberry jam. Cream cheese dough and jam are swirled together to make a beautiful Christmas design. Sprinkle them with a little powdered sugar to look like snow.
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ½ c butter
- 1 ½ c all purpose flour, sifted
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ⅓ c seedless jam, more or less
- Powdered sugar, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Mix in the salt and flour until combined and a ball starts to form.
- Use your hands to roll the dough into a ball, pressing down on the top so it's flat and will be easier to roll out (disc shaped). Wrap in plastic wrap.
- Chill 30 minutes.
- Generously flour your counter. Put the dough on your counter, sprinkle some flour over top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a 10" x 12" rectangle.
- Sprinkle the top with more flour, and roll up the dough in your rolling pin (at this point the dough is still thick enough that it won't break). Sprinkle more flour on your counter top. Flip the dough over, so what was the top is now facing the counter. Sprinkle more flour on top of the dough and roll it out to roughly a 10" x 30" rectangle (¼" thickness).
- Spread the jam all over, leaving half an inch bare on the side you'll end your rolling. Roll the dough up into a log, so you are left with a log that is 10" long. Chill for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- Use sewing thread to make ¼-1/2” slices *see notes. Line these up flat, on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire cooling rack . Once they have cooled, sprinkle powdered sugar on top and serve.
Notes
Try to cut the slices somewhere between ¼" and ½" slices. If you start on the ends working way to the center that works best.
Using sewing thread: slide the thread under the rolled up pinwheel then lift both ends up, cross them over and pull .
You want the jam to be pretty thick and jammy, if it's too thin it tends to ooze out. You can try to microwave your jam to thicken it up.
If you roll it out thinner than ¼" it will be harder to work with.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 102Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 70mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 1g
This information comes from online calculators. Although moderncrumb.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Anne S
Has anyone tried dairy free cream cheese with this recipe? The texture of the cream cheese is the same.
Lisa
Wondering if these cookies can be frozen at the log stage and then defrosted and sliced and baked. Thanks.
Tara Moore
I definitely think so!
Caroline
How many cookies per recipe please?
Tara Moore
About 32 cookies. This can vary depending on how thick the cookies are cut.
Nancy
If you roll it out to 30 inches. Roll it long edge to long edge and cut 1/4 inch thick wouldn’t that give you 120 cookies?
Tara Moore
No it doesn't make 120 cookies. Once the cookie dough is rolled up, the log of dough is only 10" long, then each cut is about 1/4" which will yield 30-40 cookies (depending on how close to the 1/4" you are making them).
Melanie
I think what Nancy is saying is if you roll it up long edge to long edge, you will have a 30” log instead of a 10” log (if you roll it up short edge to short edge, per the directions). You might not have as many swirls in the cookies doing it this way but you would get approx 120 cookies from this log (assuming 1/4” thickness).
Janey
This cookie has been a one of my favorites for many Christmas's. With so many very sweet goodies out there, this cookie is only lightly sweet and therefore you can eat so many more of them. 🙂 I love them as a pinwheel. Just beautiful!
Angela
The recipe does not list the sugar, but the write up says that you cream the butter & cream cheese with sugar. Can you let me know how much sugar? Thanks!
Tara Moore
Hi Angela, this recipe doesn't call for any sugar it is just a cream cheese and butter base. You can however sprinkle some powdered sugar on top after they have baked then cooled. Hope that helps!
Tammy
How many cookies does the recipe yield?
Tara Moore
About 30 cookies
Gayle Bertsch
Any ideas for me. . .I would like these cookies to have more crunch and a less doughy taste
Tara Moore
Hi Gayle, perhaps baking them at a lower temperature but for longer? This recipe was written to be a softer cookie, not crispy. I do have a recipe for pecan sandies, that is a crisp crumbly cookie and perhaps more what you are looking for 🙂 -Tara
Rhonda
I would like to keto this recipe. If I use almond flour, do you know if I use the same amount as regular flour? (This might also help for those who want a gluten free product). I have blanched flour, will that work for the sprinkling of dough? I am not a baker, not even a cook, as you can probably tell, so thanks for any suggestions.
Ps. For those who want a keto alternative, I thought I’d use Good Good brand strawberry jam, a smaller amount, and then add some nuts. On that note, why does it have to be seedless jam? Thanks for any help. Your recipe looks yummy!
Tara Moore
Hi Rhonda, unfortunately I am not familiar with keto or gluten free diets and the associated flour substitutes. Seedless jam because if it is not the seeds can get stuck in your teeth.
Emily
can these pinwheels be frozen?
Tara Moore
Yes they can!