My childhood memories of Christmas revolve around cookies," says Fran Gallagher Ripsom of Sun Valley, Idaho. "My mother started baking as soon as Thanksgiving was over. She prided herself on a beautiful assortment, never less than 12 kinds of cookies. Some became traditions, but she also tried new recipes. I loved the pinwheel cookies. I often bake them at other times of the year, because they are too delicious to enjoy only at Christmas."
Recipe information
Total Time
4 hours
Yield
Makes about 8 dozen
Ingredients
For filling:
For dough:
Preparation
Make filling:
Step 1
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter.
Make dough:
Step 2
Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then beat in egg and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into egg mixture and beat until combined well.
Assemble rolls:
Step 3
Halve dough and roll out each half between sheets of wax paper into a roughly 12- by 8-inch rectangle. Remove top sheets of wax paper (if they stick too much, chill dough briefly to firm up slightly) and divide chocolate filling between rectangles, spreading it in an even layer. Tightly roll up each rectangle jelly-roll fashion, beginning with a long side and using wax paper as an aid, to form a 12-inch log. Wrap rolls in wax paper and then foil. Chill rolls until firm, at least 2 hours.
Step 4
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Step 5
Working with 1 roll at a time (keep remaining roll chilled), cut rolls crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices and arrange slices 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in batches in middle of oven until pale golden and set, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer warm cookies to racks to cool.
