The Healthy Raspberry Pinwheel Cookies are… Well, as guiltless as can be! They are wholesome, low-calorie and all-natural! At the same time they are so chewy, flavorful and yummy – you just can’t stop eating them! But then… you don’t really have to! (OK, to a certain extend: just don’t eat the WHOLE batch! Maybe just two, or three, or… five is still OK! :))
But seriously, though… When your kids keep coming back for more – you know that the food came out good, right?
That’s why I can honestly state that despite that the Healthy Raspberry Pinwheel Cookies are lower in fat, sugar and calories than a traditional recipe (keep reading to learn all the secrets!), they did came out just as delicious as the real deal!
THE HEALTHY RASPBERRY PINWHEEL COOKIES
So what is the secret to all the healthy, guiltless yummy goodness?
I am glad you have asked!
The secret is… my favorite ingredient: the light cream cheese! (which is what I used for these cookies!)
NOTE: You can also use the farmer’s cheese or ricotta that are even lower in calories than the cream cheese. But after having made my cookies with the farmer’s cheese I’ve learned that it’s also important to know that they are creamier than the cream cheese. Their texture is actually closer to that of the greek yogurt. And so – if you try using them – you may end up with either softer, more difficult to manage dough or will have to use more flour).
By using the cream cheese in place of the butter you keep the same soft and chewy texture while at the same time saving lots and lots of fat calories, especially if you use the fat-free or the low-fat cream cheese!
Another NOTE: these cookies are VERY fun to make, but they DO take some more time and effort than something really simple and easy like the Healthy Birthday Cake Cookies or the Healthy Chocolate Cookies for instance.
And here’re a few more easy cookie recipes for you to check out:
To make these beauties you will need to roll out the dough, roll it back in with the jelly inside and then freeze it until it’s solid and easy to cut up.
But then… this isn’t as bad as it may sound! My best tip for making this process as easy as can be is to split it into two stages! During the first stage you will roll out the dough, roll it in with the jelly inside and put it in your freezer. That’s basically it.
For your second stage (which you can get back to on another day or a week or even a month from putting the dough in the freezer) – all you’ll need to do will be to take the dough out, slice it and bake the cookies!
Actually – heck – you can even double the recipe and make two rolled dough logs! And then you will have two cookie-eating-sharing opportunities! Because all you’ll need to do once you’re in the mood for some cookies will be to take that dough out of the freezer, slice and bake it!
See? Isn’t this easy? 🙂
And oh, what fun it was to eat and share these cookies with the family and friends!
Seriously, guys! All this yummy positivity is truly worth every extra effort!
Right? 🙂
Healthy Raspberry Pinwheel Cookies
The Healthy Raspberry Pinwheel Cookies are low-fat, low-calorie and all-natural, yet buttery, crumbly and just as decadent as the traditional Pinwheel Cookies!
Ingredients
For the Rugelach:
- 1 2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 8 oz light cream cheese
- 6 tbsp butter at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam filling store-bought or home-made from the recipe below!
For the raspberry jam filling:
- 1 cup raspberries fresh or frozen; I used the frozen ones
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp natural pectin
Instructions
To make the raspberry jam filling set the sugar and 2-3 tbsp of water in a saucepan over the low flame. Add the berries and bring to boil. Dissolve the pectin in 1 tbsp of water and pour it in the saucepan. Let the berries boil for 5-10 minutes. The longer your jam boils the thicker it's going to be. Take the pot of the heat and puree the filling once it's cooled down.
To make the cookies whip together the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract until fluffy. Add the cream cheese and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Add the flour and mix until coarse crumbs form. You don't have to worry too much about the flour being completely incorporated with the butter. Stop mixing the dough when you don't see anymore loose flour on the sides of the bowl. Let the dough chill in the bowl in your fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight covered with plastic.
Roll the dough into a 1/4 thick rectangle. Spread the jam filling over it and roll the dough in lengthwise. Wrap your dough log with a plastic wrap tightly and put it in the freezer for at least 1 hour and up to 2 months.
5 minutes before you're ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 350 F.
Prepare two cookie sheets by lining them with some parchment paper.
Unwrap the dough from the plastic and slice it with a sharp knife into 1/4 thick cookies.
- Bake the cookies in the center rack of your oven for about 25-30 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on the wire racks.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container. You can also freeze them to enjoy them later!
Recipe Notes
*I usually use 1/3 cup and the jam comes out great! But it won't stay fresh as long as the jelly made with the 1/2 sugar. For the cookies I'd recommend going with the 1/3 cup of sugar for 2 cups of blueberries and either consuming your jam within the next month or making only a little bit so that you don't have too much leftovers to worry about spoiling by cutting the recipe in half (for 1 cup of blueberries use 3 tbsp of sugar).
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