Raspberry Pinwheel Cookies

I really thought I was going to get a lot of things posted this holiday season, but such is life time got away from me. My grandmother got sick then passed away the week before Christmas, so posting didn’t really seem that important. So, I apologize for all my cookie recipes being a bit on the late side since it is already the new year. I wish my readers a very happy and healthy new year! Thank you for reading and may your baking attempts all be wondrous successes!

Ingredients:

• 1- 8 oz block of cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups (9 oz, 255 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2-3/4 cup of raspberry jam (depending on how much jam you like)

1. Beat the cream cheese until smooth and slightly fluffy. Add the butter and beat until no bits of butter are visible. Add in the sugar, salt and vanilla and mix until just combined. Add in all the flour and mix until a a dough ball forms and no dry flour bits remain.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and divide it into four equal pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or up to 1 week.
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and knead it a bit on the counter to make sure it is nicely pressed together. This helps prevent it from cracking in the middle while your are rolling.
4. Roll the dough out on a generously floured counter-top. Make sure to dust the top with flour to prevent sticking. Roll the dough out into a 1/8″ thick rectangle. Spread about 3 TB of raspberry jam evenly over the surface of the dough leaving a 1″ border on the bottom side. The jam will spread down to the bottom as you roll.
5. With the long side facing you, roll the dough up starting with the side farthest from you. Cut the log into 1 inch pieces and place each piece on a parchment lined baking sheet. Proceed with steps 3-5 for the remaining three balls of dough.   Place all of your cookies back into the refrigerator while the oven preheats.
6. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees with the racks evenly positioned in the center.
7. Bake your cookies for 20-23 minutes or until they are a light golden brown color. Rotate your pans from top to bottom halfway through your baking if you are baking more than one tray at a time. Allow the cookies to cool only briefly on the pan before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling.