These festive Cherry Pistachio Christmas Pinwheel Cookies will bring holiday cheer to your cookie platter! They have beautiful swirls of green pistachio and ruby red cherry dough, creating an eye-catching spiral that’s as delicious as it is pretty. The pearl sugar coating adds a satisfying crunch and sparkle that makes these cookies extra special.
The buttery dough is delicious. The nutty pistachios add a nice crunch. Sweet-tart dried cherries bring a lovely balance. Plus, the almond extract gives it a wonderful aroma. Together, these flavors are simply irresistible! These pinwheel cookies are perfect for holiday cookie exchanges, Christmas parties, or enjoying by the fireplace!
[feast_advanced_jump_to]
🗝️ Recipe’s key points
- These Christmas pinwheel cookies taste even better the next day. The flavors really come together, making them a great make-ahead treat for holiday gatherings!
- They’re stunning with their festive red and green swirls, making them stand out on any cookie tray. The pearl sugar coating adds texture and a beautiful sparkle.
- While these pinwheel cookies are great for the Christmas season, the flavor combination is so delicious you’ll want to make them year-round!
If you love holiday baking, these cherry pistachio pinwheel cookies will quickly become a tradition. One bite of the buttery, nutty, fruity goodness will leave you reaching for another. The whole family will love them and they store beautifully, too!
🛒 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Flour – the foundation of the cookie dough.
- Kosher salt – balances the sweetness.
- Baking powder – creates lift to give you perfectly soft cookies.
- Butter – creates a rich, tender texture and buttery flavor. Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature for easy creaming and the best texture.
- Granulated sugar – sweetens the dough and helps create the perfect texture.
- Eggs – bind the ingredients and add richness.
- Vanilla and Almond Extract – brings a warm, nutty flavor to the pinwheel cookies.
- Dried cherries – add pops of sweet-tart flavor and festive red color to half of the dough.
- Pistachios – bring a wonderful nutty flavor and beautiful green color to the other half.
- Red and green gel food coloring – intensifies the red and green colors for a more festive look. Use gel or paste food colors rather than liquid varieties. The dough is very soft, and gel colors are concentrated so you won’t need much to get bright colors.
- Pearl sugar – coats the outside of the cookie log, adding sparkle, crunch, and extra sweetness. Pearl sugar keeps its shape even at high heat, making it perfect for decorating. Look for it in the baking aisle or Scandinavian specialty stores.
🗒 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a bowl, use a mixer on medium speed to beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together. Mix until it’s light and fluffy, which should take about 5 minutes.
- Add the egg and egg yolk, one at a time, beating just to combine after each addition.
- Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half. Return one half to the mixer and add the chopped dried cherries.
- Add the desired amount of red gel food coloring and mix until evenly distributed. Shape the cherry dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap.
- Mix the remaining dough with the ground pistachios.
- Add green gel food coloring in the mixer and mix until distributed. Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill the doughs until firm enough to roll, about 30 minutes.
- Roll each dough between sheets of parchment paper into 8×10-inch rectangles.
- Invert the pistachio dough layer onto the cherry layer and press lightly to stick them together.
- Tightly roll up the layers from the long edge, jelly roll-style, creating a spiral.
- Roll the dough log in pearl sugar, pressing gently so it sticks. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Slice the chilled log into ½-inch-thick slices and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are set, 12–14 minutes.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
🥫 Storage
Store leftover cherry pistachio pinwheel cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag.
You can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough log (wrapped tightly in plastic wrap) for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, slice and bake directly from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
📚 Variations
- Different Nuts: Swap the pistachios for finely ground almonds or hazelnuts for a different flavor.
- Flavor Swaps: Try dried cranberries instead of cherries, or use chopped candied ginger for a spicy twist.
- Chocolate Version: Replace the cherry layer with cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips for a chocolate-pistachio combination.
- Natural Colors: If you want to skip food coloring, the pistachios and cherries will color the dough naturally. However, the colors will be softer. The cookies will still taste delicious and look festive.
- Sugar Coating: Replace pearl sugar with coarse sanding sugar or leave the outside plain for a more traditional look.
- Citrus Twist: Add a teaspoon of orange zest to the cherry dough for a bright, citrusy note.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- When rolling the dough rectangles, try for even thickness throughout so your pinwheel spirals look uniform.
- Chill the dough log thoroughly before slicing. This makes it much easier to cut clean slices without squishing the spiral pattern.
- Use a sharp knife and wipe it clean between slices for the neatest pinwheel look.
🤔 FAQs
I know when it comes to holiday baking, a few little questions always pop up—especcially with a swirly cookie dough like this one! I’ve collected some useful tips. These will help make your Cherry and Pistachio Christmas Pinwheel Cookies festive and delicious in your kitchen, just like they are in mine.
Absolutely! You can prepare the dough, roll it into logs, and refrigerate it for up to 3 days—or freeze it for up to 2 months. Simply slice and bake directly from the chilled or frozen state (add 1— 2 minutes to the baking time if frozen).
Dried cherries and shelled pistachios are the easiest option for this recipe. They add great flavor and color without adding extra moisture to the dough. If you only have fresh cherries, make sure to dry them well before adding.
The key is to chill the dough before slicing—cold dough slices cleanly without smearing the colors. Use a sharp knife, and don’t worry if each cookie isn’t perfect. A little imperfection adds to the charm of homemade items!
Yes! Once baked and cooled, these cookies freeze beautifully. Layer them with parchment paper in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Perfect for getting ahead of holiday baking.
Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, they’ll stay fresh for about 5 days. They keep their color and swirl pattern beautifully, so they’re great for gifting. retain their color and swirl pattern beautifully, making them
The recipe is a festive American-style cookie. However, the mix of cherries and pistachios is popular in Italian sweets.
Of course! A touch of almond extract, orange zest, or even dipping half the swirl in white chocolate would make them extra special. Feel free to give them your own holiday twist.
Hopefully these tips give you all the confidence you need to roll, slice, and bake your way into holiday cookie perfections. And remember—noi Italiani love our Natale, and a cookie tray just isn’t complete without a few pretty swirls of color! ❤️💚 So bake a batch, pour yourself a cup of tea (or espresso 😉), and enjoy every bite.
📗 Related Recipes
Here are some of my other favorite Christmas cookies:
- The Best Italian Christmas Cookies
- Italian Chocolate Toto Cookies |Traditional Christmas Treat
- Biscotti Italian Cantucci
- Chocolate Drizzled Pistachio Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
🍽 What to serve with Cherry Pistachio Christmas Pinwheel Cookies
Enjoy these festive cookies with a cup of hot cocoa, eggnog, Homemade Irish Cream, or Bailey’s Iced Coffee. Are you a tea drinker? Make it special with our delicious Chai mix and pair it with the cookies for an afternoon tea
🔪 All Our Way recommends the following
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- Electric mixer – for creaming the butter and sugar and mixing the dough.
- Rolling pin – for rolling out the dough rectangles.
- Mixing bowls – for mixing the dough.
- Whisk – for combining the dry ingredients.
- Dry measuring cups and measuring spoons – for accurate measurements.
- Baking trays – for baking the cookies.
- Parchment paper – for rolling the dough and lining baking sheets.
- Plastic wrap – for wrapping and chilling the dough.
- Sharp knife – for slicing the cookie log cleanly.
- Wooden mixing spoon – for combining ingredients with the soft cookie dough
- Cooling rack – for cooling the cookies completely.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Oh, amici, can I just say these Cherry and Pistachio Pinwheel Cookies make me smile every time I see them? They’re like little edible ornaments for your cookies tray—red, green, and perfectly swirled! And of course, noi Italiani do love our Natale—it’s not Christmas without a whole table filled with biscotti (cookies), and dolci to share.
I love that these cookies are not only pretty but also packed with flavor. The nutty pistachios balance the sweet cherries, and that buttery dough brings it all together. They look fancy, but they’re actually so fun and easy to make. Perfect for gifting, for cookie exchanges, or just to nibble with your rspresso while the Christmas lights twinkle.
So so ahead, bake a batch (or two). Share them with friends, tuck them into a tin for neighbors, or keep them all for yourself—no judgement here! After all, Christmas comes but once a year, and these pinwheels deserve a spot on your holiday cookie tray.
Buon Natale e buon appetito, miei amici!
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
What’s new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We’ll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make
cooking fun and easy.
📖 Recipe
PISTACHIO & CHERRY PINWHEEL COOKIES
#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0 .wprm-rating-star.wprm-rating-star-full svg * { fill: #343434; }#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0 .wprm-rating-star.wprm-rating-star-33 svg * { fill: url(#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0-33); }#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0 .wprm-rating-star.wprm-rating-star-50 svg * { fill: url(#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0-50); }#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0 .wprm-rating-star.wprm-rating-star-66 svg * { fill: url(#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0-66); }linearGradient#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0-33 stop { stop-color: #343434; }linearGradient#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0-50 stop { stop-color: #343434; }linearGradient#wprm-recipe-user-rating-0-66 stop { stop-color: #343434; }
Makes: 30 cookies Total Time: 1 ½ hours + chilling time
Equipment
-
Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer
-
Mixing bowls
-
Dry measuring cups
-
Measuring Spoons
-
Parchment paper
-
Plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. table salt
- CREAM:
- 16 Tbsp. sticks unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. pure almond extract
- ½ cup finely chopped dried cherries
- ½ cup ground roasted and salted pistachios
- Gel food color
- Pearl sugar
Instructions
-
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
-
Cream butter and granulated sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about ⏰ 5 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk, one at a time, beating just to combine after each. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts.
-
Add flour mixture; beat just until incorporated.
-
Divide dough in half. Return one half to mixer, add cherries and desired amount of red food color; mix to distribute. Shape dough into a disk, then wrap in plastic. Mix remaining dough half with pistachios and desired amount of green food color in a mixer; repeat shaping and wrapping. Chill doughs until firm enough to roll, about ⏰ 30 minutes.
-
Roll each dough between sheets of parchment into 8×10-inch rectangles.
-
Invert pistachio dough layer onto cherry layer; press lightly to adhere. Tightly roll up layers from long edge, jelly roll-style.
-
Roll dough log in pearl sugar, pressing to adhere; wrap in plastic and chill at least 2 hours.
-
Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment. Slice log into ½-inch-thick slices; transfer to prepared baking sheets.
-
Bake cookies until edges are set, ⏰ 12–14 minutes; cool on baking sheets ⏰ 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
Larger-grain, opaque pearl sugar is often used in Scandinavian baking. It’s great for decorating because it keeps its shape and doesn’t melt in high heat.
**Need a few more ideas to make it your own? Head back to the post — that’s where I spill all the chef’s kisses of wisdom! 😘
Nutrition
The post Cherry Pistachio Christmas Pinwheel Cookies appeared first on All Our Way.