Desserts
Pistachio Pinwheels
With pistachio nuts in the dough and a rich raspberry filling, these Pinwheels are both playful and delicious. For the prettiest cookies, be precise when rolling out the dough — and resist the urge to hurry when forming the spiral. Let the cookie roll chill thoroughly before slicing into it. If you’re baking these as gifts, make extra. It’s almost impossible to avoid nibbling these sweet treats.
Ingredients
FOR THE COOKIES—
FOR THE FILLING—
Test Kitchen Tips
For cookies with sharp, crisp edges, chill the dough for at least 4 hours before cutting. This gives it time to harden enough so the roll doesn’t buckle when you slice off rounds with a sharp knife.
Use any flavor of jam or preserves you like in these cookies, but avoid using jelly—it is likely to liquefy and seep while baking
Instructions
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
Using a hand mixer on low speed, cream butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl until mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.
Add egg and almond extract to creamed mixture; beat on low speed until well blended. Add half of the flour mixture; beat until ingredients are combined. Add remaining flour, beating only until flour is incorporated. Stir in nuts.
Divide dough in half. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap, pressing dough into a rectangle 1½-inches thick; chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
Stir together jam and cornstarch for the filling in a small saucepan; bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Remove filling from heat; let cool 20 minutes. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour.
Roll one portion of dough between parchment paper to form a 10×12-inch rectangle ⅛-inch thick. Remove top parchment; thinly spread ½ cup cooled filling over dough, leaving a ½-inch border.
Roll dough into a log, first turning up about a ½ inch of dough along one long side. Tightly roll dough and filling, using parchment to keep roll even. Wrap log in parchment, twisting ends of paper. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Chill logs 4 to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°; line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cut well-chilled dough into ½–inch slices. Transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until edges are lightly browned, 15–17 minutes. Immediately transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
MAKE-AHEAD DIRECTIONS
Wrap logs in foil. Freeze logs up to 3 months; thaw in the refrigerator before cutting and baking.
Add the pistachios after all of the dry ingredients have been mixed into the cookie dough.
Form dough into two rectangles, then cover each with plastic wrap and chill until firm.
Cornstarch thickens the jam. Simmering for 5 minutes reduces the mixture to about 1 cup.
Tightly roll the dough over the filling to form a compact log. Use the parchment to help align log.