spinning my pinwheels

This is a recipe I have been eying for a good chunk of my life as we combed through recipes in this cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens®.  This book has provided the basis for my dad's awesome biscotti and one of my all-time favorite cookies, Coconut Jumbles.  I remember looking through the book as a kid after my dad told me to pick a favorite and how could I deny a pink-fluffy confection with coconut on top?!  Those have been a cookie plate standard every since.  Thank you Father Fartknocker, tee-hee.  Now that I am happily contributing to the family diabetes plate, I thought it time to attempt these pretty (and also pinkish) pinwheel cookies.  They always looked to be difficult but thankfully it is more in the design and less in the actual work.  I hope to make them again next year but with perhaps a few edits.  These are scrumptious but fragile even with the edition of shortening.  I can't have fragile cookies when they travel through three states and over 350 miles.  The dough also warmed up very quickly after sitting in the fridge well over twenty-four hours and stuck bit during the rolling process so be a little generous with the "lightly flour surface."  Regardless though, I was happy with the outcome and intend to try the fluted edge next year to make them super fanciful. 

Cherry Cheese Pinwheels

from Cookies, Cookies, Cookies and Any-Day Treats
Yield: 36

INGREDIENTS
dough
1/3 C butter, softened
1/3 C shortening
3/4 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 egg
2 T milk
1 t vanilla
2 C all-purpose flour

cherry cheese filling
4 oz cream cheese or neufchatel cheese, softened
2 T sugar
1/4-1/2 C chopped dried cherries

DIRECTIONS
dough
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
3. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat in the flour on low speed. Divide dough into fourths. Cover; chill about 3 hours or until dough is easy to handle.

cherry cheese filling
1. Combine cream cheese or reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir in dried cherries. Makes about 3/4 cup.

assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll a portion of the dough into a 10x5-inch rectangle. Using a fluted pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut dough into eight 2 1/2-inch squares. Place squares 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
2. Cut 1 inch slits from each corner toward the center of each square. Spoon a level teaspoon of filling onto center of each square. Fold every other tip in corners to center of squares to form a pinwheel; press gently to seal. If desired, sprinkle tops with flaked coconut.
3. Repeat with remaining dough, and filling. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to a wire racks and let cookies cool.

Nutrition: 84 cal, 4g fat, 52mg sod, 11g carb, 6g sugar, 1g fiber, 1g protein