I Can Cook That

learning the ins and outs of cooking and baking, one recipe at a time

  • Home
  • Recipe Index
    • Ingredients
      • 10 Ingredient Meals
      • 5 Ingredient Meals
      • Beef
      • Lamb
      • Pasta
      • Pork
      • Poultry
      • Seafood
    • Meals
      • Appetizer
      • Beverages
      • Breakfast
      • Cocktails
      • Dessert
        • Ice Cream
      • Game Day Eats
      • Main Dish
      • Party App
      • Salad
      • Sandwich
      • Sides
      • Snacks
      • Soups/Stews
    • Specifics
      • Air Fryer
      • Canning
      • Juicer
      • Freezable
      • Make Ahead
      • On the Grill
      • One Pot Meals
      • Pressure Cooker
      • Quick
      • Sheet Pan Meals
      • Slow Cooker
      • Sous Vide
      • Weeknight Meal
    • Dietary Concerns
      • Dairy Free
      • Gluten Free
      • Meatless
      • Nut Free
      • Paleo
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • whole30
    • Geographic Inspiration
      • Asia
        • East Asia
          • Japan
        • South Asia
        • Southeast Asia
      • Africa
        • East Africa
        • North Africa
        • South Africa
        • West Africa
      • Caribbean
      • Europe
        • England
        • France
        • Germany
        • Greece
        • Ireland
        • Italy
        • Poland
        • Portugal
        • Spain
        • Sweden
      • South America
        • Latin America
      • Middle East
      • North America
      • Pacific Islands
        • Hawaiian
    • Other
      • Gifts
      • Giveaway
      • Guest Post
      • Review
      • Roundup
      • Stitch Fix
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Me
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Work with Me
You are here: Home / Dessert / Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies

November 11, 2011 By Kaitlin 8 Comments

Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

I promise I’ll stop my cookie binge after this post. I was looking for a somewhat “adult” cookie for a bake sale at work and I came across this recipe for Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies. Ginger and lemon cookies? Hmm. This recipe takes a long time (a lot of refrigerating, freezing, etc.) so if you plan on making these Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies, make sure you have a good chunk of time, around 2 hours.

Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies
but they are so pretty it’s worth it!

Ingredients

Ginger dough:

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Dash of ground allspice

Lemon dough:

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg white
  • the zest of 2 lemons
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

To make the Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies, begin by making the ginger dough. In a medium bowl, add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and allspice, stir with a whisk to combine.

Add 1/4 cup butter and the brown sugar to a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium until well combined.

You will end up using an entire egg in this recipe. To remove the yolk from the egg white, crack the egg over a bowl carefully. Split the two ends of the egg and move the egg from shell piece to shell piece until the white falls into the bowl and the yolk is left in the shell. Reserve the egg white for the lemon dough.

Add molasses and egg yolk to the sugar and butter. Beat until well blended.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make the lemon dough, add 5 tablespoons softened butter and the sugar in a large bowl. Mix at medium speed until blended. Add the egg white and beat until combined.

Add lemon rind, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, and vanilla using a mixer to blend.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.

Unwrap ginger dough. Roll ginger dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 8 1/2–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). (I honestly just eyeballed this). Chill 10 minutes.

Unwrap lemon dough. Roll lemon dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 9–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). Basically I just tried to make it slightly thinner than the ginger dough. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Chill 10 minutes.

Carefully stack ginger dough on top of lemon dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge.

Starting with the long side without a border, roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion. Seal edges (do not seal ends of roll). Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the freezer. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap dough. Cut with a sharp knife into 40 slices (I got 39 out of mine, so close!)

Arrange slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake one batch at a time for 9 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

So I can’t lie, this Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies recipe has to be one of the most time consuming and difficult cookie recipes I’ve ever made. But the result is pretty awesome. I was so proud of myself when they turned out looking like pinwheels!

You primarily taste the gingerbread, but the aftertaste is a light lemony flavor.

I thought these two flavors might compete with each other, but they end up being quite complimentary. Who knew?

Also, these Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies are pretty snazzy looking aren’t they? 🙂

These Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies are not soft chewy cookies (like a chocolate chip), they are more firm than that. They would probably be awesome dipped into some tea. Yum!

Ginger Lemon Pinwheel Cookies

Two cookie recipes rolled together to create these yummy ginger and lemon pinwheel cookies!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Chill Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs
Course Dessert
Servings 40 cookies

Ingredients
  

Ginger dough:

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Dash of ground allspice

Lemon dough:

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg white
  • the zest of 2 lemons
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Begin by making the ginger dough. In a medium bowl, add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and allspice, stir with a whisk to combine.
  • Add 1/4 cup butter and the brown sugar to a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium until well combined.
  • You will end up using an entire egg in this recipe. To remove the yolk from the egg white, crack the egg over a bowl carefully. Split the two ends of the egg and move the egg from shell piece to shell piece until the white falls into the bowl and the yolk is left in the shell. Reserve the egg white for the lemon dough.
  • Add molasses and egg yolk to the sugar and butter. Beat until well blended.
  • Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.
  • Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • To make the lemon dough, add 5 tablespoons softened butter and the sugar in a large bowl. Mix at medium speed until blended. Add the egg white and beat until combined.
  • Add lemon rind, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, and vanilla using a mixer to blend.
  • In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.
  • Unwrap ginger dough. Roll ginger dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 8 1/2–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). (I honestly just eyeballed this). Chill 10 minutes.
  • Unwrap lemon dough. Roll lemon dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 9–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick). Basically I just tried to make it slightly thinner than the ginger dough. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Chill 10 minutes.
  • Carefully stack ginger dough on top of lemon dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge.
  • Starting with the long side without a border, roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion. Seal edges (do not seal ends of roll). Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.
  • Remove the dough from the freezer. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap dough. Cut with a sharp knife into 40 slices.
  • Arrange slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
  • Bake one batch at a time for 9 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Notes

If you make this recipe, share a photo on Instagram and tag me @icancookthat!
Keyword Cookies, Ginger, Lemon, Pinwheel

Related posts:

Chewy Gingerbread CookiesChewy Gingerbread Cookies Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars Gingerbread Fudge

Filed Under: Dessert Tagged With: Allspice, Cinnamon, Cookies, Dessert, Eggs, Ginger, Gingerbread, Lemon, Molasses, Nutmeg, Pinwheel, Zest

Comments

  1. healthyfoodietravels says

    November 11, 2011 at 1:35 pm

    What pretty little cookies, and what a nicely perfect pinwheel! Sounds like a great flavor combination, too, I bet these would go great with tea.

    Reply
  2. Suzi says

    November 11, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    I love the ingredients and the pinwheels are so cute. Very nice photos. Bet they taste delicious.

    Reply
  3. Carolyn says

    November 11, 2011 at 3:23 pm

    I love ginger and lemon together. These are such great cookies!

    Reply
  4. The Cozy Herbivore says

    November 11, 2011 at 11:58 pm

    Oh man, these are gorgeous! Worth all of that time and effort for sure– I love your cookie obsession!

    Reply
  5. Ann says

    November 12, 2011 at 5:14 am

    These are just stunning and I really like the flavor combination! Congratulations on a beautiful cookie!

    Reply
  6. Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says

    November 13, 2011 at 2:05 am

    These are so pretty! And what a great flavor combo!

    Reply
  7. Arlene says

    March 20, 2023 at 8:05 pm

    I made these cookies and my son told me they were the best cookies I ever made.

    Reply
    • Kaitlin @ I Can Cook That says

      May 21, 2023 at 8:20 pm

      What a compliment! Glad they were a hit!

      Reply

What do you think? Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Get Social

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Search

Follow on Bloglovin

Recent Posts

Homemade Cheesecake Ice Cream
Grapefruit Miso Butter Chicken
Homemade Strawberry Basil Ice Cream
Salmon Ceviche
Tahini Millionaire Ice Cream
Honey Glazed Orange Ginger Shrimp
Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes
Irish Soda Bread Scones
Irish Apple Cake with Whiskey Cream Sauce
Homemade Irish Potato Candy Ice Cream

Popular Dishes






timheinmusic.com

Categories

Search

BrandBacker Member

Archives

© 2025 · Recipe Pro Theme By WP Chic

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 I Can Cook That - Designed by Pumpkin Beans

Go to mobile version