Christmas Swirl Sprinkle Cookies
Before you write these cookies off as being “too difficult”, let me reassure you… they’re not that hard! All it takes is a little extra effort and you will have these stunning Christmas cookies to give to family and friends or to display on your Christmas party table. Not only can you make these swirled cookies with Christmas colors, but you can even change them up for Valentine’s Day, July 4th, Halloween, etc. I will forewarn you on the sprinkles, however. Being a little distracted while making multiple dishes for our Christmas party, I was not really paying attention to details while cooking. Grabbing the first cookie sheet out of the cabinet, I happened to grab one without any edges. BIG. MISTAKE. While transporting this beautiful log of cookie dough, surrounded in brightly colored sprinkles, I happened to bump one of our kitchen chairs. And yup. You guessed it. Rainbow sprinkles quickly adorned every square inch of our kitchen. And for some unknown reason, our dog, Tevah, did not appear to have any interest AT ALL in licking up these delicious, tiny balls of sugar. Instead, the vacuum cleaner and broom were my only weapons to tackle the multi-colored floor. After about 30 minutes of clean-up I thought I had found every last one of them. But even now, a week later, I see a couple in a distant corner, coloring my floor. So please, USE A COOKIE SHEET WITH EDGES when you’re rolling your dough in the sprinkles. It will save you a lot of time! Hope you enjoy!
Christmas Swirl Sprinkle Cookies
Christmas Swirl Sprinkle Cookies
Rectangle of Dough
Christmas Swirl Sprinkle Cookies
Santa will love these Christmas cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 c. butter softened
- 1 c. sugar white
- 2 c. white rice flour
- 1 c. tapioca starch
- 1 ½ t. xanthan gum
- Or 3 c. all purpose flour instead of the above 3 ingredients
- ½ t. salt
- 1 ½ t. baking powder
- 1 egg
- ½ t. vanilla extract
- ½ t. almond extract
- 1 container rainbow sprinkles
- Red and Green food coloring
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
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In a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
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In a separate bowl combine flour, starch, gum, salt and baking powder. Slowly add in half of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar.
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Once half is added, add in egg and extracts. Continue adding in the remaining of the dry ingredients until well combined.
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Divide dough in half. Add enough red and green food coloring to each batch until desired color is reached. (I used about ½ bottle of each.)
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Roll each color of dough on a piece of wax/parchment paper into an 8 inch by 12 inch rectangle.
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Once each rectangle is made, layer one on top of the other and push slightly into each other. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
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Remove from refrigerator and begin rolling (hot dog style) with the long side. (As if you’re rolling to make cinnamon rolls). Roll log in the container or rainbow sprinkles, coating all sides of the log. Refrigerate for at least 2 more hours.
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When ready to bake, slice log into 30 equal slices. Place 15 on a cookie sheet (they do not really spread) and bake for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!
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Victoria says
Can the almond extract be substituted for anything else?
London Brazil says
You can use another extract you like, like vanilla. Let me know how it turns out!
Megan says
I have a 4 year old little girl who we just found out is allergic to gluten and most dairy… luckily for me not butter yet! I made these for her since we go over and above with Christmas cookies at our house, and the look of disappointment and defeat on her little face was enough to make me cry! Thank you for the recipe, and for making a little girl’s Christmas wish of yummy cookies she could eat come true!
London says
Oh Megan, you just made my day!! I can’t imagine a sweet little 4-year-old without Christmas cookies! I am so happy they turned out so great for you and your daughter 🙂 Thanks so much for your sweet comment!
Holly says
The dough was really crumbly. I don’t know what I did wrong. I used an all purpose gluten free flour like it suggested. Any ideas?
London says
Hi Holly! So sorry your dough turned out crumbly. My best guess is that the butter was not soft enough. Butter plays a HUGE role in the consistency of your dough. I would try melting it a little more in the microwave. You can always refrigerate the dough if it is too soft! Hope this helps.
Connie says
What brand of sprinkles is gluten free? I haven’t found any. These recipe looks wonderfully easy, versatile and can be assembled ahead and frozen!!!
London says
Hi Connie! I have used Wilton in the past. Those sprinkles are not made with gluten but they do still have the potential for cross-contamination in the factory. And yes! These cookies can absolutely be made ahead and frozen 🙂
Nicole says
Hi London,
What is your experience with freezing the cookies after baking or freezing dough? I’m new to GF and would still like to cage this holiday season, I would like to prepare some ahead of time.
Thanks, Nicole
London says
Hi Nicole! I would definitely freeze the dough versus freezing the baked cookies. Simply wrap the rolled up dough in wax paper and either wrap in saran wrap or place in a large enough Ziploc bag. Let the dough thaw before baking and they should turn out great!