Cranberry-Wine Swirl Cookies

I left Northern California at 18—a few years shy of being able to reap the benefits of living so close to wine country. Now my trips home regularly feature a local bottle or two, which my dad carefully pairs with my mom’s holiday cooking (I know, adorable). These pinwheel-style cookies use a classic sugar dough, rolled around a layer of quick cranberry jam made with red wine. The cranberries’ acidity plays so well with the tannins in the wine, and their pectin firms up the jam so that it doesn’t seep out when baked. While I’d never recommend baking (or cooking) with your best bottle, you can certainly serve these cookies alongside glasses of the good stuff. They’re not too sweet and just as at home on a cheese plate as they are after dinner.

BAKER’S NOTE: This recipe is all about temperatures. The dough is easiest to roll when it's room temperature (malleable but not overly soft), and the swirls are easiest to slice straight from one hour in the freezer (very firm but not frozen solid). It may seem finicky, but all the back and forth to and from the fridge is worth it for clean swirls and crisp slices that don’t spread much as they bake.