Today is day 11 of the 12 Days Of Christmas Cookies!
I like holiday cookie trays that have a little pop of color, so I thought that red and green swirl cookies would be the perfect addition! This is a lightly flavored almond cookie that shows off the colors of the holiday. The dough needs to be formed and chilled, so make sure you plan ahead. The cookies are well worth the effort!
Red and Green Swirl Cookies
Recipe lightly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
Red and green gel food coloring
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the egg yolks and almond extract. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until combined.
On a lightly floured work surface, transfer the dough and divide it into 2 even pieces. Color each piece of dough by adding a few drops of food coloring. Knead the dough until the color is evenly distributed and the color is uniform (I used gloves for this).
Between 2 pieces of parchment paper, roll out one of the colors until you have a 12 inch square. Repeat with the second color. Remove the top piece of parchment paper from both colors and place the red dough on top of the green dough. Gently roll over the dough with a rolling pin- this will help adhere the 2 colors. Starting with a long edge, roll the dough up into a log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
After 3 hours, remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. Slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, leaving 3 inches between each cookie. Bake in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookies are set. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, move the cookies onto cooling racks and let cool completely. Enjoy!
Made with love, not calories!
These are adorable and oh so festive!
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