To make these pinwheel cookies, phyllo dough is brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with cardamom sugar, rolled into a spiraled log, and sliced and baked. In the oven, the melted butter and cardamom sugar mingle and caramelize on the sheet pan, forming a glassy surface, while the phyllo bakes up flaky and golden all the way through. The cookies are so shatteringly tender that they give palmiers, a buttery French cookie made from puff pastry (and one of my favorite cookies), a run for their money.
This recipe was excerpted from ‘What's for Dessert’ by Claire Saffitz. Buy the full book on Amazon. Head this way for more cookie recipes →
The cookies, stored airtight at room temperature, will keep for up to 3 days, or they can be frozen for up to 1 month. Use a different spice? Yes. Instead of cardamom, use 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, or any warm spice of your choice (amount to taste).
Recipe information
Yield
Makes about 20 cookies
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Starting at one of the short sides and using the parchment paper to help you, tightly roll up the stack of two sheets into a spiraled log, then gently lift the log off the parchment and set aside.
Step 2
Working on top of the same parchment paper, repeat the buttering, sugaring, and stacking process using 2 more sheets of phyllo, but don’t roll them up (yet). Lift up the log you already rolled and place it along one of the short sides of the new stack, then roll up the stack of phyllo around the log as snugly as possible, again using the parchment to help you. Set the log aside.
Step 3
Repeat the process two more times, each time using 2 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each layer and sprinkling with 1½ tablespoons cardamom sugar. Roll each stack snugly around the log, building up the layers and thickening the log each time.
Step 4
Place the final sheet of phyllo on the parchment paper and brush with more butter (you may or may not use all the butter, depending on how generously you coated each layer), then roll up the log in the final sheet just as you did before, taking care not to tear it.
Step 5
Gently place the log on a cutting board seam-side down, cover loosely with reusable food wrap or plastic wrap, and transfer to the freezer. Freeze until the log is very firm but not frozen solid, 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 6
Arrange an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.
Step 7
Remove the log from the freezer and uncover. Use a serrated knife to shave off just the loose and raggedy ends of the log, exposing clean-cut faces, then slice the log crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices. If the delicate phyllo tears or starts to unravel, just do your best to press it back in place. Place the slices cut-side down on the prepared sheet pan, spacing them evenly (they will not spread).
Step 8
Bake the cookies until they’re deep golden brown and the bottoms are caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheet pan front to back after 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes on the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe notes
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