Today is week three in our 12 weeks of Christmas Cookies countdown. Both April and I knew we had to make The Doubled Dipped Life’s Nutella Pinwheel Cookies the moment we saw them. How could we resist a cookie with a delicious Nutella swirl?
April made the cookies before I did and warned me that the dough was a little soft and needed to chill a little more before rolling. I was also a bit worried about spreading the Nutella, so I zapped it in the microwave for 20 second on defrost and it softened just enough so it spread easily.
I decided to add some orange zest and orange oil to the cookie dough to give it an unexpected flavor boost. I really love the orange addition! It tasted like a crunchy, sandy Terry’s orange chocolate that you get at Christmastime.
I doubled the recipe so that I would have cookies to eat and a dozen to freeze for my cookie platters. So far only one of the cookies in the freezer has been eaten! My husband, who doesn’t read my blog, said, “Well, you weren’t saving them for anything were you?” Now I’ve written do not eat on the freezer bags! My doubled version is below. If you’re a Nutella addict like me, you’ll love these cookies!
Orange Nutella Pinwheel Cookies
(Adapted from a recipe from The Purple Foodie)
2 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange oil
1 tsp. fine orange zest
2 cups flour
1/2 cup Nutella
Preheat oven to 350. Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy. Mix in the egg yolks, vanilla, and orange oil (or orange extract). The mixture should be light and well combined. Stir in the flour and orange zest. Refrigerate the dough for 30 min. for easy rolling. Next, roll out the dough into two rectangles of 1/4 inch thickness. Spread the Nutella, leaving a 1/4 inch space on all four sides. No oozing out please! Roll up the dough. Refrigerate another 30 minutes before slicing. Slice the roll into 1/2 inch slices. (I cut my with dental floss.) Lay the slices on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly golden at the edges. Baking time depends on how thick they are cut.
Visit Megan, April, Megan, Kim and Denise to see the fabulous cookies they’ve baked this week!
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I am very curious about your freezing method for your holiday cookies. What are you freezing them in? Are you wrapping them in any special way to preserve their freshness? I make huge cookie platters for the holidays but I don't start baking until right after Thanksgiving so the cookies don't pick up a freezer taste. It would be excellent if I could start earlier, so I'm curious how you do it.
These look really good! and I know that the orange was great in these!
For heavens sake girl…I am dizzy just thinking of all the baking I need to do…and here you are…doing it! Grin. These do look good. Yes, as Coleen asked….I would be curious to see how you freeze them all….not that they last that long in my household anyway…ha!
I haven't tried freezing them before, but I did some research online and everything I read said that most cookies can be frozen for up to three months without any deterioration in flavor. So I decided to give it a try. It also helps to suck all the air out of the freezer bag before freezing them.
This is the first year I've done cookie platters, so the expectations aren't that high for me yet!
They look so good! You know I gotta try these. I have a premonition that I'll be having some extra egg yolks in my near future! How would these be if I made them, rolled them and then froze them. Bake at a later time. Think it would work well?
I love the combination of orange and chocolate – great idea! They look wonderful. Sounds like a great idea for the rest of my Nutella.
Hi Barbara, I just scrolled through your recent yummy recipe. Christmas cookies already? Oh no! I feel behind.
Those look terrific – although April seemed to struggle with them, you made it seem much easier. We've been eating all the cookies, I haven't even thought about freezing them yet!
oh i love the combo of these! i am loving your cookie recipes!
This sounds totally new to me and a good combination of flavors that I must try. I always freeze cookies and have not had a problem but then again they don't last long in my house:)
Joyce
In my house, pinwheel cookies have dates on the inside and a sugar cookie-esque dough on the outside of the roll. However, these look perfect to change things up =D.
Wow, these look so great. I love the swirl of Nutella and the addition of the orange! This is a really great thing you guys are doing- testing out all these holiday cookies!
Orange and nutella–two great flavors. Looks yummy
Barbara, these look so pretty…I'm always looking for new cookies to make for the holidays. I used to freeze them for about 4 weeks. Then my husband would raid them!
Pinwheel cookies are so much fun! The combination of orange and nutella must taste great.
I really like an orange/chocolate combination and these sound great…plus festive for a cookie platter.
Barbara, I'm back and what do I see? Pinwheel cookies which is something weirdly enough of been craving and wanting to make. I'll have to use your recipe now. And Nutella? Wow! Yes! I can also see the orange giving it a christmasy taste. Beautiful. And funny about your hubby!
I do love Nutella and these look divine! I don't know if they would last long in my freezer!
Wow, do these look great of what. I would eat Nutella in/on just about anything, it's SO good!
What a great way to eat nutella (besides off the spoon). Your cookies look amazing.
Mimi
oh yes, we love nutella!! These look delish!!
What a great idea to freeze our cookies, never thought about it before. Thanks.
Great pinwheels, great flavour!
I LooooooVE Nutella, these cookies look so good! I love the idea of the 12 weeks of cookies, I can't wait to see what you post next
Pinwheel cookies have the advantage of looking good as well as tasting great.
I LOVE orange and chocolate together, and with the Nutella, this must be sensational. I'm a big fan of pinwheel cookies and these are on my must-make list. I am so happy you posted this. You have put a big smile on my face for these cookies!
I do love Nutella and this is a definite bake for Christmas. Thanks Barbara.
You are bringing the spirit of Christmas closer & closer to me with all your festive cookies! I love it & I so look forward to Christmas right now!
orange chocolate – sounds perfect and like a nice surprise when you bite into the pinwheels. orange choc always reminds me of the holidays.
OH yum, marking this recipe to try!
I am absolutely making these! I love Terry's chocolate orange too! Chocolate and orange are the perfect combination! Thank you Barbara!
mmmm… These look really good!