Walking the fine line between a cookie and a tart, the Joulutorttu is a favorite holiday treat found in bakeries and homes across Finland. The traditional recipe calls for a prune preserve filling, but we opted for a bright, boozy cranberry and ruby port reduction.
Finnish Pinwheel Cookies (Joulutorttu)
Makes about 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (227 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
- 1 cup (225 grams) ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup (60 grams) whole milk
- Cranberry Port Preserves (recipe follows)
- Garnish: confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In the work bowl of a food processor, place flour, cold butter, and salt; pulse until mixture is crumbly. Add ricotta and milk, and pulse until dough comes together. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Shape each portion into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line 3 rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Working with one disk of dough at a time, roll dough to ⅛-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using a 3-inch square cutter, cut dough, and place on prepared pans. On each square, make 4 (1-inch) cuts at corners diagonally toward center. Place 1 teaspoon (7 grams) Cranberry Port Preserves in center of each cookie. Fold every other tip over toward center, forming a pinwheel. Dab ends of tips with water to help adhere and prevent separation during baking.
- Bake until edges are just barely golden brown, 11 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely on pans. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
Cranberry Port Preserves
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients
- 2 cups (210 grams) frozen cranberries, thawed
- ¼ cup (55 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (60 grams) water
- ¼ cup (60 grams) ruby port wine
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat. Mash cranberries, and reduce heat to low; simmer for 10 minutes. Pour mixture into a jar with a tight-fitting lid, and let cool completely. Refrigerate any leftover cranberry preserves for up to 2 weeks. (Leftover hot preserves can be transferred to sterilized jars, water bath processed for 10 minutes, and stored for up to 6 months.)