Description

These Valentine’s Day Swirl Slice-and-Bake Cookies are buttery, tender, and beautifully swirled with pink and red. Rolled in festive sprinkles, they look like they came from a bakery but are surprisingly easy to make. No cookie cutters or rolling pins needed, just mix, swirl, chill, slice, and bake.

Ingredients

Scale

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
Pink and red gel food coloring
½ cup Valentine’s nonpareil sprinkles

Instructions

Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until pale yellow and fluffy.
Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until smoothly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed just until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix.
Divide the dough in half. Tint one half with pink gel food coloring and the other with red, kneading gently until the color is uniform. If the dough is too soft, chill for 15 minutes.
On parchment paper, roll each colored dough half into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Stack one rectangle on top of the other.
Gently roll them together into a log, pressing slightly to help them adhere.
Pour the nonpareil sprinkles onto a baking sheet. Roll the dough log through the sprinkles, pressing gently to cover the entire outside.
Wrap the sprinkle-covered log tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a sharp knife, slice the chilled log into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Place them about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until the edges are just set. The centers will still look soft.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

For a chocolate swirl, replace 1/4 cup of flour in one dough half with 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.
Add the zest of one lemon to the dough for a bright, citrusy twist.
Skip the food coloring and mix 1/2 cup of rainbow sprinkles into the dough for a Funfetti version.
Use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend in place of regular flour for a gluten-free option.
Roll the log in heart-shaped sprinkles or red and pink sanding sugar instead of nonpareils for a different texture.
Dough logs can be made up to a month in advance, wrapped tightly, and frozen. Slice and bake directly from the freezer while still slightly firm.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Dessert
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 110
Sugar: 6g
Sodium: 55mg
Fat: 6g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Carbohydrates: 13g
Protein: 1g

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