These pinwheel cookies are a German recipe (called Schwarz-Weiß-Gebäck there) and were always high up on the cookie-baking list at my Oma's house. It turns out that 15% of all German households like to make these vanilla chocolate cookies, too! Creating the pinwheel pattern is easy and I will show you exactly how to make them step-by-step.
This pinwheel cookie is a beautiful vanilla and chocolate swirl cookie that's not too hard and not too soft and is always a delicious go-to for us. In German, they're called Schwarz-Weiß-Gebäck, meaning black and white baked goods.
I will also show you how to turn the same recipe into checker cookies, which is the pattern my Oma preferred. Checker cookies take a little longer to make, but are super impressive for anyone coming over for a coffee or when gifting them.
How to make pinwheel cookies
The great news is that making pinwheel cookies is easy! You'll make an easy vanilla dough, then divide out half of it (I just eyeball). Then add cocoa powder to make your chocolate dough.
Wrap up the dough and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
To make the pinwheel cookies, roll out each color of the dough to about ¼ inch thick rectangle. They should be around the same size.
Brush each rolled-out dough with egg white, then layer the dough on top of each other. Trim off the sides to make them straight.
Tip: I also roll up the trimmings and cut those into cookies, then chill them with the other dough before baking. They won’t be as pretty, but still just as tasty!
Now roll up the dough tightly, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 310 F or 150 C convection.
Slice the cookies into ¼ inch (½ cm) slices, set on baking sheets covered in parchment paper or silicone baking mats, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until barely starting to turn a golden color.
How to make checker cookies
The checker or checkerboard cookie pattern is a bit more advanced. I usually divide my vanilla and chocolate dough in half and make both the pinwheel and checkerboard patterns from one batch of dough. Or you could double the dough to make both.
Roll out each color to ½ inch thick rectangle. Trim to make the sides straight. Cut each color into 9 long logs and set aside. You'll have 18 logs total, 9 chocolate logs, and 9 vanilla logs.
Now roll out the trimmings to a thin layer. It needs to be thin enough to cover the 9 stacked logs.
Brush some egg white onto the rolled-out dough, then add the first layer of logs, alternating in color.
When stacking logs on the chocolate dough, you will start with the vanilla logs on each side and the chocolate in the middle. Brush on more egg whites between each layer to help make it all stick. Then alternate in color and finish the same way you started. You’ll have 9 logs stacked in 3 rows of 3 logs each.
When stacking the vanilla dough, you will start with the chocolate logs on each side and the vanilla log in the middle (I did this incorrectly as you can tell from the pictures).
Now wrap this stack of logs in the thinly rolled-out dough and pinch together the seams. Fill in holes with extra trimmings where needed.
Trim the excess from the ends, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
If making both checkerboard and pinwheel cookies at the same time, I start with the checkerboard pattern, then work any trimmings from those into the dough for the pinwheel cookies. This way you end up with fewer leftover trimmings.
Ingredients
You don't need any fancy ingredients to make pinwheel cookies and checkerboard cookies.
- Flour. I use all-purpose wheat flour for most of my baking recipes.
- Powdered sugar. The powdered sugar helps to add lightness to the cookie since there aren't any rising agents in this cookie recipe.
- Vanilla. I use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract in my pinwheel cookie recipe. You could also use the scraped seeds of one vanilla bean, 1 Tablespoon of vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste.
- Salt. Just a pinch to bring out the vanilla and chocolate flavors.
- Egg. You'll use the whole egg for the dough and egg white for brushing onto the rolled-out dough when assembling the cookies. The egg white is the glue to help the cookies stick and not fall apart.
- Butter. I use grass-fed butter in all my baking. If using salted butter, don't add any extra salt.
- Cocoa powder. I use high-quality cocoa powder because I can taste the difference.
- Milk. You'll add a little bit of milk when adding the cocoa into the chocolate dough, which helps the cookie not get too dry.
More German cookie recipes
In love with this German pinwheel cookie recipe? I hope you also tried to make the fun checkerboard pattern!
Then here are some more German Christmas cookie recipes that I just cannot live without! Some favorites are Vanillekipferl (vanilla bean cookies), Spitzbuben (jam sandwich cookies), and Nussecken (German nut bars).
German Pinwheel and Checkerboard Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 300 grams all-purpose flour I use all-purpose flour for most of my baking, so I buy in bulk.
- 100 grams powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the scraped seeds from one vanilla bean, 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or 1 Tablespoon of vanilla sugar
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 egg large
- 125 grams butter Room temperature. I use grass-fed butter. If using salted butter, leave out the added salt in this recipe.
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder use the good stuff!
- 1 Tablespoon milk can use dairy free milk or even water instead
- 1 egg white For brushing on the dough when assembling. This creates the glue to not have the cookies fall apart.
Instructions
Make Dough
- Knead together all dough ingredients except the cocoa powder and milk (making sure the butter is room temperature - if not, warm it in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time).300 grams all-purpose flour, 100 grams powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 pinch sea salt, 1 egg, 125 grams butter
- Divide out half of the dough and knead in the cocoa powder and milk.1 Tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 Tablespoon milk
- Wrap up each dough separately in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Pinwheel Cookies
- To make the pinwheel cookies, roll out each color of the dough to about ¼ inch thick rectangle. They should be around the same size.
- Brush each rolled-out dough with egg white, then layer the dough on top of each other. Trim off the sides to make them straight.Tip: I also roll up the trimmings and cut those into cookies, then chill them with the other dough before baking. They won’t be as pretty, but still just as tasty!1 egg white
- Now roll up the dough tightly, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Checkerboard
- The checker or checkerboard cookie pattern is a bit more advanced. I usually divide my vanilla and chocolate dough in half and make both the pinwheel and checkerboard patterns from one batch of dough. Or you could double the dough to make both.
- Roll out each color to ½ inch thick rectangle. Trim to make the sides straight. Cut each color into 9 long logs and set aside. You'll have 18 logs total, 9 chocolate logs, and 9 vanilla logs.
- Now combine the trimmings and roll out to a thin layer. It needs to be thin enough to cover the 9 stacked logs.
- Brush some egg white onto the rolled-out dough, then add the first layer of logs, alternating in color.
- When stacking logs on the chocolate dough, you will start with the vanilla logs on each side and the chocolate in the middle. Brush on more egg whites between each layer to help make it all stick. Then alternate in color and finish the same way you started. You’ll have 9 logs stacked in 3 rows of 3 logs each.
- When stacking the vanilla dough, you will start with the chocolate logs on each side and the vanilla log in the middle.
- Now wrap this stack of logs in the thinly rolled-out dough and pinch together the seams. Fill in holes with extra trimmings where needed.
- Wrap the cookie roll in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Cut & Bake Cookies
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 310 F or 150 C convection.
- Trim the excess from the ends place on the baking sheet upside down.
- Slice the cookie rolls into ¼ inch (½ cm) slices, set on baking sheets covered in parchment paper or silicone baking mats, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until barely starting to turn a golden color.
Notes
David Head
On your variations ... you could also add strawberry powder! I use freeze dried strawberry slices to make an amazing strawberry butter cream icing for strawberry cupcakes. Strawberry flavor is tough to really get pronounced but with freeze dried strawberries it's concentrated. Just powder up the freeze dried strawberries and use that for the coloring/flavoring. It might be more magenta than red. I've printed this recipe and will have to try these cookies. I already make vanillie kipferle!
dirndlkitchen
Hi David! How did your Schwarz-Weiss-Gebäck turn out? Did you try using the freeze-dried strawberries in it?
Hillary
It's missing sugar and tastes SUPER flour-y even with the icing sugar in it.
dirndlkitchen
Hi Hillary, this is not a super sweet cookie and not comparable with American cookies. You could add more sugar if you like, but my Oma used this as her recipe when cooking in her kitchen in Germany.