How to make…Halloween swirl cookies

These basic sugar cookies look anything but basic and taste great, too. Originally based on “Whoville cookies” (a recipe we found on Pinterest a few years ago), we’ve changed it up in various ways so it works for any holiday or occasion. Sandy particularly likes the Thanksgiving swirl cookies that call for adding cocoa powder to half the dough for a chocolate flavoured swirl.

Ingredients

3	cups	plain flour
1½	tsp	baking powder
½	tsp	salt
1	cup	granulated sugar
1	cup	butter	2 sticks, or 250g, softened
1	tsp	vanilla extract
2		eggs
		food colouring	Use colours and sprinkle designs to best suit your occasion
1	cup	holiday sprinkles

Preparation

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar until creamy.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat together.
4. Combine with the flour mixture.
5. Separate the dough in half and knead through the food colouring into each half.
6. Roll out each half to an 11 x 9″ rectangle that is ¼” thick using two sheets of parchment paper.
7. Keeping the dough in the parchment, place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
8. Take the top layer of paper off each rectangle of dough and lightly wet the tops before sandwiching them together.
9. Remove the top piece of parchment paper off the sandwich and start rolling the dough to make the swirl, using the bottom layer of of paper to pull it tight.
10. Roll the log in sprinkles being sure to press them into the dough.
11. Refrigerate the dough once again for at least 15 minutes.
12. While you’re waiting for the dough to cool, pre-heat the oven to 160C / 325F and setup your cookie cooling station. (We use a brown paper bag cut to lay flat.)
13. Slice the dough into ¼” slices and place on non-stick cookie sheets (or on parchment-lined cookie sheets).
14. Bake for 10-15 minutes, switching oven racks half way through to ensure even baking.
15. When finished baking, leave to cool for a minute on the baking tray before removing to finish cooling on a wire rack or paper bag.

Watch us make it

Check out our YouTube video by clicking the image below to see how I make my Halloween swirl cookies, and don’t forget to like, and subscribe to our channel while you’re there.

What about you?

Do you have a favourite treat for Halloween? We’ve tried a couple of different things over the years, but these have become the tradition in our house. We’d love for you to try them yourself. Download our free recipe card and add this recipe to your family’s repertoire, too.

And, if you do make them, share it with us using #cookies and tagging @parkerlings on your social media. If you have any questions, just ask, using the form below.

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