Professionally trained pastry chef and cookbook author Lauren Chattman knows a thing or two about cookies.
In Cookie Swap (Workman Publishing, New York), the Cutchogue resident reignites the idea of hosting an old-school party that brings people together to trade stories, nibbles and recipes that celebrate these perfectly portable desserts. What better vehicle for sugar, butter, eggs and flour?
“Folks are passionate about their cookie recipes handed from parent to child, from friend to friend,” says Chattman, “and this is a dough that I use for a million different cookies, including my rugelach.” By incorporating cream cheese into the dough, these jam-filled pinwheels share the tangy flavor of rugelach, the crescent-rolled pastry and Hanukkah treat. “It’s a very rich dough, but with few ingredients, so it’s super easy to make,” says Chattman.
Although rolling the dough out, cutting it into squares with a pastry cutter and folding it into pinwheel shapes may “take a little bit of skill,” Chattman insists that “it’s not hard at all and they come out very pretty.”
The jam used to fill these origami-shaped cookies should be just as memorable. Luckily, both the North and South Forks are home to preserve makers who grow raspberries with the help of native pollinators and search the shores looking for just the right beach plum.
“We won an International Flavor Award this year for our Anna Jamma Jam — a farmer’s market jam filled with strawberry, red raspberry, blueberry and blackberry inspired by our cute pig, Anna,” humbly boasts Blossom Meadow Farm’s bee rancher, Laura Klahre. Klahre also placed first in the jam competition at the 2025 Hallockville Museum Farm Fair with her Queen’s Jam, a gorgeous mix of organic blueberries and raspberries.
“Native bees, such as mason bees, pollinate two to three times better than the honeybees do,” explains Klahre, “and that complete pollination of a flower results in higher yields and higher-quality berries.” Knowing that Blossom Meadow Farm picks its fruit at peak ripeness to guarantee the berries have the best flavor and contain more antioxidants is reason enough to select their award-winning preserves for this recipe. Klahre’s aforementioned Queen’s Jam (a classic Swedish preserve) would also be an excellent choice.
Craving a slightly tarter bite in this sweet treat? Look no further than beach plum jelly from Hamptons Preserves, made from hand-foraged South Shore beach plums by husband-and-wife team Halsey Surgan and Briana Rogers Surgan. They also make a Christmas jam with blueberries, cranberries, strawberries and a touch of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg.
With all this inspiration, it may be best to use a variety of jam flavors in the petite pinwheels, making them a perfect addition to a dessert buffet for the holidays or a cookie swap gathering. “A few basic ingredients lend themselves to so many possible iterations — a world of flavors and textures — all small enough to be held in hand,” says Chattman of the beloved cookie. “A portable hug.”
Blossom Meadow Farms preserves are available at Coffee Pot Cellars, 31855 Main Road, Cutchogue, open every day in December from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Hamptons Preserves are available at the Westhampton Beach Holiday Market on Saturdays through December 28 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. inside Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church.
Cream cheese and jam pinwheels
Serves 48 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 oz chilled cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 16 pieces
- 1/3 cup raspberry or strawberry preserves
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup gold sanding sugar
Directions
- Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cream cheese and butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal (be careful to not over process).
- Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape the dough into two 6-inch squares. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate it for at least two hours and for up to two days.
- With a lightly floured rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the dough squares into a rough 12 1/2-inch-by-8 1/2-inch rectangle, trimming the edges with a fluted pastry wheel so it measures exactly 12-by-8 inches.
- Use the fluted pastry wheel to cut the dough into 2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet, an inch apart, refrigerate the sheet, and repeat with the remaining dough.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Use the fluted pastry wheel to cut 1-inch diagonal slits from each corner of a square toward the center, taking care not to cut all the way through.
- Place ¼ teaspoon of jam in the center of each square. Gently lift every other point and fold it into the center, overlapping the points of the folded tips slightly over the jam. Repeat with the remaining squares.
- Lightly brush the cookies with the beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with the sanding sugar. Bake until the edges of the cookies are deep golden, 14 to 18 minutes.
- Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool completely on the sheet. Pinwheels will keep in an airtight container for two to three days.
