There is nothing better than a simple cream cheese cookie. Not just because of the cream cheese, but also the butter! These Apricot Pinwheel Cookies are so easy to make with only four ingredients and a little powered sugar for dusting. Chances are you will have all of these ingredients in your house already.
The only tricky part about these cookies is folding the first one. Once you have the first one done, the rest are a breeze. And the biggest time saver is using a pizza cutter.
What’s the difference between jam and jelly?
The biggest difference between jam and jelly is that jelly is made from fruit juice and jam is made from the fruit. Jam should have chunks of fruit, is think, and holds well for baking. Jelly will run when baking.
We do use jelly when cooking as an ingredient. Both jelly and jam are delicious spread well on bread and as glazes. It really comes down to your personal preference. But as a reminder – always bake with jam.
What is the difference between Neufchâtel and Cream Cheese?
In our home, we only have cream cheese. I consider it a whole food with all the goodness. Basically, Neufchâtel has less fat and a higher moisture content. I feel this effects the texture and thus, balance when baking.
As for taste, I feel that Neufchâtel is less tangy than cream cheese. We cannot, though, confuse the Neufchâtel that we have in America to the original Neufchâtel in France. The French version is a delicious mixture made of milk fat with a bloomy rind and is much like Brie.
When do you use salted vs unsalted butter?
I always use unsalted butter when baking. This allows you to control the taste of the final product. If you do use salted butter instead of unsalted butter, simply decrease the salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon per 1/2 cup of butter. This is not an exact measurement, but will give you a good start.
Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe
We just love these Apricot Pinwheel Cookies and while they call for apricot jam, you can certainly use another flavor or even mix them up! We like the apricot for the flavor and final color. The only thing you have to remember is to use jam in these and never jelly. They will not hold their shape if you use jelly.
The last thing to remember is that these cookies take just 15 minutes to make, but do require you to refrigerate for an hour.
Yield: 20 Cookies
Bake: 30 Minutes, plus one hour to rest in refrigerator
Ingredients:
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
- 3 cups flour, plus more for rolling cookies
- 1 cup apricot jam
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix cream cheese and softened unsalted butter in a stand mixer. Add in three cups of flour. Mix well. Wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Place a quarter of the dough on a dough board and roll out to a thin layer. Cut into 2 inch squares. Using a pizza dough cutter, slice the corners lengthwise into the center of the square. Do this on all four corners. Leave some uncut in the middle where the jam will be placed.
- Put a small amount of apricot jam into the center of the square. Fold in one end of each cut. Place one end into the center then skip the next then do the next one to the center and repeat. Use a little water to press all of them together in the center. This allows them to stay well when baking.
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Place the cookies on a cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar. Store in airtight container.
There is nothing better than a simple cream cheese cookie. These scrumptious and gorgeous Apricot Pinwheel Cookies are so easy to make. There's only four ingredients, plus a little powered sugar for dusting. 
Apricot Pinwheel Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
I am a home cook that does things my way. In my kitchen, I make breakfast, pack lunches, prepare snacks, and cook dinner. During the week, we eat real food that is homemade, organic, and local. On the weekends we do explore more of our local restaurants. I bake my own bread, juice fresh oranges every other day, and make my own kombucha and other weekly favorites.
