Halloween Pinwheel Cookies

These Halloween pinwheel cookies are a perfect delicious and eye-catching treat for your next Halloween party. Rich and buttery sugar cookie dough is colored black and orange, then rolled together and cut into discs to reveal a pretty Halloween pinwheel design.

purple and orange swirl cookies stacked on a plate

You’ll look like a professional pastry chef when you serve these pretty and impressive looking Halloween pinwheel cookies at your next party. The vibrant Halloween colors and fancy pinwheel design make them a perfect addition to your Halloween theme, and they’ll even match your party decor.

They’re also as delicious as they look, with a rich sweet taste and a hint of vanilla flavor. But despite their fancy appearance, these treats are easy to make, and they don’t require any special tools or kitchen equipment. Try this festive recipe when you need a show stopping treat that pairs perfectly with Halloween fun!

Table of Contents

💗 Why We Love This Recipe

With their striking black and orange design, these treats will be a big hit at any Halloween party.
They have a delicious sweet and buttery flavor that all your guests will love.
With some pretty wrapping, they’d be perfect to hand out as a classroom treat or a teacher gift.
You can make this recipe in different colors for all kinds of occasions or leave the dough uncolored and make regular sugar cookies.

Recommended Tools

electric or stand mixer
mixing bowl
spatula
measuring cups
measuring spoons
sharp knife
cookie sheets
cooling rack
parchment or wax paper

Ingredients

butter, softened
sugar
eggs
vanilla
salt
baking powder
all-purpose flour

How to Make Halloween Pinwheel Cookies

Step One: Make the Dough

One of the process of preparing Halloween pinwheel cookie dough

Process of preparing Halloween pinwheel cookie dough

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and eggs and continue to mix until well incorporated.
In a separate large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing between additions, until all the flour mixture is incorporated.
Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half.

Step Two: Color and Chill the Dough

2 plain cookie dough balls with food coloring on side

Black and orange Halloween pinwheel cookie doughs

Add about ¼ tsp of orange gel food coloring to one half of the dough and knead until the color is evenly distributed.
Repeat with the other half, adding about ¼ tsp black gel food coloring.
Place black dough on a piece of parchment or wax paper and roll out into a 9×15 rectangle then place it on a baking sheet and set aside. Repeat with the orange dough.

Halloween pinwheel cookie dough flattened on a tray

With the orange dough still on the parchment, place it on top of the black dough and place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

Step Three: Roll the Dough

Remove dough from the refrigerator, then carefully remove the orange dough from the parchment and lay it on top of the black dough, lining up the edges.
Use a sharp knife to trim the edges of the dough to make a rectangle.
Starting with the shorter end of the rectangle, carefully roll up the dough.
Wrap the rolled dough in parchment or wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Step Four: Cut and Bake the Cookies

sliced pinwheel cookies with cooking knife

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Unwrap the dough and place it on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice dough into ¼ inch slices and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 1-2 minutes before transferring them to a metal cooling rack.

Tips and Suggestions

Use the parchment paper to help you roll the dough without it sticking to your hands, and place gentle pressure on it as you are rolling to help it stay together.
If you have a food scale, use it to weigh the divided dough before you add the food coloring. This will ensure that you have equal amounts of the black and orange dough.
Use a pizza cutter to trim the edges of the stacked dough – it will help you get the perfect swirl on your cookies.

Variations

Change up the dough colors for different occasions and holidays. You could make red and green for Christmas, red and pink for Valentine’s Day, or pastel colors for Easter. (Look at our blue pinwheel cookies that are great for the holidays and birthdays.)
Instead of rolling the dough together, you can keep the black and orange layers separate and use Halloween cookie cutters to make regular sugar cookies in both black and orange.
After cutting the cookies, roll the edges in some Halloween sprinkles just before baking.

cup of coffee with a plate of black and orange swirl cookies

How Do I Store Halloween Pinwheel Cookies?

Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.

Can I Freeze Halloween Pinwheel Cookies?

Yes – you can freeze them for up to 3 months. Stack them in layers with a sheet of parchment or wax paper between each layer and place them in an airtight container in the freezer.

🎃 More Halloween Recipes