Pinwheel Pumpkin Cookies

Pinwheel pumpkin cookies turn the usual fall cookie into something that looks bakery-fancy with very little extra work. The filling goes first: canned pumpkin purée reduces on the stovetop with sugar and pumpkin pie spice until it thickens into a sliceable paste, then chopped nuts fold in for crunch. Reducing the pumpkin matters. A thin filling bleeds out when you roll the dough and the spiral disappears.

The cookie dough is a classic shortening-and-sugar base with flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and eggs. You split it in three, roll each piece into a rectangle on floured foil, spread filling thin, and roll it up jelly-roll style. The foil makes this much easier than a bare counter. Freeze the logs hard before slicing. Frozen dough slices cleanly into ⅜ inch rounds that hold their pinwheel shape in the hot oven. A drizzle of vanilla icing goes on after they cool.

Pro Tips

• Freeze the logs overnight for the neatest slices. Partially frozen dough squishes and smears the spiral.
• Use a thin, sharp knife and rotate the log a quarter turn after each slice. This keeps the spiral round instead of oval.
• Spread the filling to within half an inch of the edges. Go all the way to the edge and it squeezes out when you roll.
• Bake in the center of the oven and watch the bottoms. These cookies turn from pale to too-dark fast at 400°F (205°C).

Variations

• Pecans or walnuts: Either pecans or walnuts work beautifully; pecans lean sweeter, walnuts lean earthy.
• Maple icing: Swap vanilla in the icing for a teaspoon of maple syrup for a fall-forward finish.
• Chocolate drizzle: Skip the icing and drizzle melted dark chocolate over the cooled cookies for a richer contrast.