An embossed rolling pin is used to create decorative patterns on cookies and other baked goods. Get the best, embossed cookie recipe here!
Today, I'm making Christmas cookies with an embossed rolling pin. It's such an easy way to create beautiful Christmas cookies in minutes! I'll also give you my tips and tricks for using, caring for and storing an embossed rolling pin so that it will serve you well for years to come.
This cookie dough and rolling pin are far too good to keep for Christmas though. Apart from my Reindeer patterned rolling pin, I bought a second rolling pin with a vintage pattern so that I can make embossed cookies all year round!
The cookie dough I used to make these embossed cookies was also used to make these fabulous Christmas cookies (with a slight variation).
Christmas cookie blog hop
I'm so excited to take part in this Christmas cookie blog hop. Thanks to my friend Jennifer of kitchenserf.com for organising.
You can find the links to view all my talented blogger friends' scrumptious cookie recipes below.
Table of contents
- Christmas cookie blog hop
- What is an embossed or patterned rolling pin?
- Where can you buy an embossed rolling Pin?
- Round and square cookie cutters
- Should you oil a wooden rolling pin?
- Christmas cookies with an embossed rolling pin
- How to use an embossed rolling pin
- Embossed rolling pin pattern tips
- How do you clean an embossed rolling pin?
- How to store an embossed rolling pin
- 📖 Recipe
- Follow the blog hop for more Christmas cookie recipes!
- These posts are good too!
What is an embossed or patterned rolling pin?
An embossed rolling pin is a wooden rolling pin that has a pattern cut into it. When you roll it over the cookie dough, it leaves a beautiful pattern that you can then cut out with regular cookie cutters.
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Where can you buy an embossed rolling Pin?
I bought my rolling pins from the lovely Karolina of 'Pastry Made'. Her embossed rolling pins are so popular that she has sold almost 2,000 of them since she's been on Etsy. She ships them all over the world too! I'm giving you fair warning that once you see her shop, you will want to buy everything in it – don't say I didn't warn you!
You can see the Reindeer embossed rolling pin here. (I bought the large size).
Karolina sends instructions with every rolling pin so that you will know how to get the best out of it.
It must be a very, busy period for Karolina with so many people purchasing Christmas gifts online this year and her embossed rolling pins are perfect for sending through the post. Despite this, my order was dealt with efficiently and quickly and Karolina answered my emails right away.
I knew this Christmas Cookie blog hop was coming up so I couldn't wait for my beautiful patterned rolling pins to arrive!
Here's how you should prepare a patterned rolling pin for use.
Round and square cookie cutters
Whether you're baking round or square cookies, these are some of the best cookie cutters for using with an embossed rolling pin. Both the round and square cookie cutters have a scalloped (fluted) edge which will make your cookies look even prettier.
You can find square cookie cutters with a scalloped edge here.
Find round cookie cutters with a scalloped edge here.
Should you oil a wooden rolling pin?
When you first receive your embossed rolling pin, the first thing you should do is oil it. Karolina recommends olive or vegetable oil. I use my homemade Calendula oil because it has antibacterial properties and besides, I have lots of it!
All you need to do is brush the oil onto the patterned rolling pin with a pastry brush. You will find that you will be able to get the oil into all the nooks and crannies with the brush.
TIP: I would oil your rolling pin at least a couple of hours before you intend to use it to give the oil a chance to soak into the wood. That way, you won't have an oily residue sitting on top of the wood when it comes time to make your Christmas cookies.
That's it! Your beautiful patterned rolling pin is prepared and ready to use!
Christmas cookies with an embossed rolling pin
Making Christmas cookie dough
You will find the full recipe and instructions in the recipe card below but here are a few tips for getting the best possible dough to use with your embossed rolling pin.
How to keep embossed rolling pins from sticking to the dough?
Chill the dough
Once all the ingredients are well combined, pull your dough together into a ball. Divide the dough in half, wrap each half or place in a covered glass bowl in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
However tempted you are (even if you are in a rush), don't skip this part. The dough must be cold when you start working with it because there is less of a chance that the dough will stick to the embossed rolling pin.
Any pastry left over once you've cut out your cookies should be placed back in the fridge to cool again for another twenty to thirty minutes. Then you can roll it out again to make another batch of cookies.
OK, if you want to cheat, you can put it in the freezer for ten minutes instead!
Flour the pastry, not the rolling pin
Once you've rolled out the dough with your usual rolling pin, give it a good sprinkling of flour and smooth it all over the dough.
I found that adding flour to the embossed rolling pin clogged up the pattern so that it wasn't as clear.
How to use an embossed rolling pin
Now that the dough is chilled and floured, roll over it once with the embossed rolling pin.
After using my embossed rolling pin on numerous batches of Christmas cookies, I find it works best if I place my hands on the rolling pin and not the handles on either side. I manage to achieve more consistent pressure that way. I had to take my hands away in the picture above so that I could take the photograph!
Embossed rolling pin pattern tips
Use confectioner’s sugar
Use confectioner's sugar/icing sugar instead of granular sugar. I don't usually use confectioner's sugar when baking cookies or biscuits but I find that granular sugar tends to make the cookies expand too much during baking. The more the cookies expand, the less chance there is of the pattern staying clear.
Don't be worried about the cookies turning out too sweet if you use confectioner's sugar, they won't.
Chill the cookies before baking
After cutting out the cookies, place them in the fridge for another thirty minutes. You could also place them in a freezer for around ten minutes instead if you have enough space for the cookies to lay flat. (This is what I did).
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/392F.
Take the cookies straight out of the fridge/freezer and pop them into the oven to bake for around 6-7 minutes.
The aim is to make sure the cookie dough does not lift or spread too much while baking so that the pattern of the embossed rolling pin, can still be seen once the cookies have been baked. I think I managed it quite nicely with my Christmas cookie dough recipe but I'll let you be the judge of that.
How do you clean an embossed rolling pin?
Between you and me, I thought these embossed rolling pins would be a bit of a pain to clean afterward but they aren’t at all.
The trick is to use one of these scrubbing brushes, they work like a charm! Karolina sells these too so you can buy one at the same time as you buy your pin(s).
I find it best to go over the patterned rolling pin with a dry brush first to get as many of the pastry bits out of the pattern. You should find that there is hardly any pastry stuck to the rolling pin. With the Reindeer rolling pin, I found some pastry residue in some of the tiny dots but I managed to remove them with the round scrubbing brush. Then, I wet the scrubbing brush, add some washing-up liquid and go over it again.
Lastly, I hold the patterned rolling pin under a running tap to remove the detergent.
You should never immerse a patterned rolling pin in water completely nor should you put it in the dishwasher.
Wipe the rolling pin with a clean, dry tea towel and leave it out of the sun for a few hours to dry completely.
How to store an embossed rolling pin
Once the rolling pin is clean and dry, use your pastry brush to brush it with oil again.
Store your embossed rolling pin somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight. I wrap each of my rolling pins in a sheet of baking parchment and store them in a bottom drawer in my kitchen.
I hope you liked my tutorial for making Christmas cookies with an embossed rolling pin. Will you give it a try do you think?
If you do, say hi to Carolina from me and tell her I sent you her way. I told her I'm doing this blog hop so she knows you all might be popping over. I can't wait for you to try her beautifully made rolling pins for yourself.
Happy Christmas cookie baking!
If you'd like to save this idea for later, be sure to pin it to your most relevant Pinterest board - hover over the top left corner of the image below and the Pinterest 'Save' button will appear 🙂
📖 Recipe
Embossed rolling pin cookie recipe
This is the absolute best recipe for making cookie dough for use with embossed rolling pins. It will not stick to your rolling pin and the biscuits are super delicious!
Ingredients
- 200g // 7oz Unsalted butter
- 150G // 5oz Confectioner’s (icing) sugar
- 1 Egg (at room temperature)
- A pinch of salt
- 400g // 14oz Fine Wheat flour (All-purpose).
- 1 Tablespoon Spekulatius spice mixture
- or
- ½ Teaspoon mixed spice, ½ Teaspoon cinnamon.
Instructions
- Pre -heat the oven to 200C // 392F
- Cream the butter with the sugar until
pale and creamy. - Add the egg and mix well.
- Sift together the flour, salt and
spices, add to wet mixture until well incorporated. - Once the mixture has formed a dough,
flatten it with your hands, cut in half and chill in the fridge for
30 minutes. - On a lightly floured surface, roll out
one of the pastry halves with you a rolling pin (not the embossed
pin) to around 1cm/10mm thick. - Roll over the dough with the embossed
rolling pin once.
- Use cookie cutters to cut the cookies
into shapes. - Bake cookies at 200C // 392F for 7-8
minutes. - Allow to cool completely before storing
in an airtight container. - Enjoy while fresh.
Notes
Depending on your oven, your cookies may bake more quickly/slowly than mine did. Keep a close eye on them and remove when they start to go slightly brown on the edges.
Exchange the spices for vanailla esscence or any other essence of choice to enjoy these cookies all year round.
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Follow the blog hop for more Christmas cookie recipes!
Here's where you can view the scrumptious cookie recipes from all the bloggers who are taking part in this Christmas cookie blog hop.
Click on the Links Below to Follow the Tour!
Just Jill– 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Back Porch Bliss– Wait Until You See These mug Cookies
A Loverly Life– Chocolate Chai Tea Cakes
MTB Home Living– Snow On Plowed Ground Cookies
Everyday Edits– 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge
My Home And Travels– Chewy Gingersnap Cookies
Bricks ‘N Blooms– Easy Christmas Cookies
Shop At Blu– Holiday Cookie Recipes
Hammers N Hugs– Christmas Pudding Cookies
JDub By Design– Butter Pecan Cookies
Now Choose Life- Fritos Trail Mix
B4 And Afters– Best Cookie Cutter Cookies
Cottage on Bunker Hill– Nana’s Italian Cookies
American School Of Charm– Christmas Recipe For Salt Dough
These posts are good too!
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Jennifer Howard says
Jayne- Your cookies are gorgeous!!! Your pictures are amazing too.
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks so much Jennifer!
Sue at Blu says
Jayne your post is chock full of tips and tricks and great ways to bake! I love how professional your cookies look! I've seen embossed rolling pins but now I need one!
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks so much Sue. I'll definitely be buying some more of these embossed rolling pins that's for sure! I've got my eye on the 'Flores' pin - it's gorgeous!
Renee Barton says
I love this idea. I never heard of the embossed rolling pin before!
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks Renee, I think I'm hooked on these now!
laura@everydayedits.co says
Hi jayne, Love the cookies and love love the photos. What camera are you using? I am thinking about upgrading in 2021. laura
ps where do you live in germany? And fyi I am obsessed with all the British shows on netflix.. doc martin, something halifax. xo laura love the rollers!
Jayne Westerholt says
Hi Laura, thanks for your lovely comment! I live near Munich in Bavaria. You can find out about my camera equipment here CHALKING UP SUCCESS - FAQ By the way, I loved the Doc Martin series too!
Leslie Watkins says
I love these sooooo much!! Much inspiration for a new embossed rolling pin!!
Jayne Westerholt says
Yes! Leslie, you will love making embossed cookies with these rolling pins!
Stacy says
Jayne I love that rolling pin! How cool is that!!!
Jayne Westerholt says
VERY cool Stacy, I can't stop baking!
Misty says
Jayne, these are absolutely gorgeous, and your tips are so helpful. I'm pinning this for safe-keeping until I can try. And straight from here, I'm going to check out these rolling pins by Carolina. Thanks so much and Happy Holidays! XOXO
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks, Misty, I'm glad you found my tips helpful. Definitely check out the embossed rolling pins, they are a dream to use!
Jennifer says
Your cookies are gorgeous! I’ve always wanted to try this!
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks, Jennifer! Now's your chance, they are on sale right now!
Marie says
These are stunning cookies! Like the supermodel of cookies ha ha! I've never heard of an embossed rolling pin- would make a great gift for the bakers in my life.
Jayne Westerholt says
Yes, the supermodel of cookies, I love that Marie and yes, they would make fab gifts!
Liberty says
I've seen embossed rolling pins and would love to have one-- but I'm running out of room in my small house! I've saved your post-- it's interesting to see how they do work. I'm afraid I would get addicted and want tons of different patterns!
(Also, I did finally pin an image, but pinning directly from the image returned errors.... what worked was using the Pin extension in my browser....)
Jayne Westerholt says
I think I'm already addicted Liberty, but they are soooo pretty. AND, I can think of worse things to be addicted to! 😉
Allison O'Dell says
Jayne, I am definitely getting an embossed rolling pin! The cookies and post are beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing, Ali.
Jayne Westerholt says
You're welcome! I enjoyed taking part in your Blogger DIY Challenge - can't wait for the next one!
Cindy says
Oh my you have me hooked again.
You shared fabulous tips.
Pinning and taking a look at the shop!!!
Jayne Westerholt says
Thank you, Cindy! I very much enjoyed your home tour too! Merry Christmas!
Claire says
I love these so much. I need one of these rolling pins in my kitchen 🙂
Jayne Westerholt says
I think everyone needs one of these rolling pins in their kitchen!
Rachel Harper says
Jayne,
These cookies are so beautiful. I might not want to eat them. Just kidding!!!
Look for your feature on Wednesday, Charming Homes & garden.
Jayne Westerholt says
Haha, Rachel, I know what you mean, but they are too delicious to waste! Thank you for featuring them, I'm looking forward to the next party!
Michelle | Thistle Key Lane says
Love your post Jayne! I've wanted an embossed rolling pin for a long but not sure if I my cookies would turn out. Thanks to your tutorial I'm going to order one. I'm excited to share your post and recipe this week at the Tuesday Turn About Link Party!
Jayne Westerholt says
I'm so glad you're going to give these embossed rolling pins a go Michelle, you will love baking with them. Thank you for sharing my recipe this week, I really appreciate it!
Rachelle says
Jayne, I love everything about these cookies!!!!
They are beautiful, like little works of art.
I'm visiting the site to see all of the other goodies for sale 😉
Thank you for sharing this with us.
RR
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks Rachelle, I hope you find something you like - they are all so lovely it's hard to make a decision!
Marlene says
Thanks for the detailed instructions and recipe. My daughter in law gave me an embossed rolling pin, but the first time I used it my results were not so good. This time, using your recipe and tips, you could actually see the pattern!
Jayne Westerholt says
Marlene, that makes me so happy! My first attempt wasn't very good either but I love those rolling pins so much, I was determined to find the right method. This recipe works for me every time 🙂
Kippi Ohern says
Yum, these look just like the ones my aunt used to make. I am saving this recipe to try at Christmas.
Merry Christmas,
Kippi
Jayne Westerholt says
I'm so glad you like them, Kippi! Let me know how they turn out.
Rebecca says
Jayne, I've never seen an embossed rolling pin before. How neat! I adore those deer cookies. Now I want one too! Thanks for sharing the recipe and instructions. Pinned!
Jayne Westerholt says
Thank you, Rebecca! Embossed rolling pins are so easy to use and kids love to use them too!
Meegan L Fast says
Thank you for all the tips and tricks, Jayne. Your cookies not only look delicious, but are gorgeous, too. Christmas perfect!
Jayne Westerholt says
Thank you so much, Meegan! I hope you give these embossed cookies a try!
Kimberly J Snyder says
Such a great idea! thanks for sharing! I may have to get an embossed rolling pin!
Jayne Westerholt says
Definitely get an embossed rolling, Kimberley, they make such gorgeous cookies!
Karins Kottage says
Such a fabulous post! I have always to try making these cookies. The rolling pins are soo cute!
Karin
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks, Karin! These have to be the easiest Christmas cookies I have ever made!
Jennifer Williams says
I love these rolling pins and these cookies look so amazing and easy! Definitely making these this season!
Jayne Westerholt says
Thanks, Jennifer! You will love these cookies they are easy to make and delicious!
Debora says
My dough cam out very dry and not rollable. Any idea what I have done wrong? I measured everything meticulously.
Thanks I am anxious to get it right
Bora
Jayne Westerholt says
Hi Bora! I'm sorry to hear that your dough came out too dry. Dry dough can sometimes be caused by over mixing. This recipe definitely works, I recently used it to make my chocolate-dipped Christmas cookies and the dough was perfect. To save crumbly dough, try adding a few tablespoons of water or milk then, kneading the dough again. Keep adding liquid one spoonful at a time until the dough is the right consistency. I hope that solves the problem for you.
Janet Manoleded says
I made the dough and it was perfect. Wrapped it up in plastic wrap and refrigerated it. It was late and I was tired so I left it overnight. It’s as hard as a rock ! I’ve had it out now for an hour and it doesn’t seem to be softening up. Did I destroy it or do I just need to wait longer?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Jayne Westerholt says
Hi Janet. Don't worry, you haven't destroyed it! Just leave it a while longer and it will soften eventually. Good luck with your cookies!
Tia says
The dough is very crumbly, is that normal? Should I add liquid to it?
Jayne Westerholt says
Hi, Tia! No, the dough shouldn't be crumbly. You should be able to knead it into a firm ball of dough. You could try adding a tiny amount of milk or water to the mixture to loosen it up a little. Let me know how you get on.
Chloe says
Hello! Any suggestions about putting food coloring in the dough? Hoping to add red and green to make them more festive!
Jayne Westerholt says
Hi Chloe, I've never tried adding food coloring to these Christmas cookies but I think they would look great in different colors! Let me know how they turn out!
Nathalie says
I love this site! I’m making the cookies now but struggling with the oz/grams measurements. I’ve looked at conversion to cups and tsp but not getting anything accurate. Any tips? Thank you
Jayne Westerholt says
Hi Nathalie, I'm so glad you love the recipe. I don't use cups for baking because I find the measurements to be unreliable. The ingredients need to be measured out pretty accurately to make these cookies that's why I recommend using a weighing scale and sticking to either ounces or grams.
Cindy J says
Received my embossed rolling pin as a gift last year. I was so excited to use it but ended up so disappointed. I wasted two batches because the pin left so may tiny shards of splintered wood in the dough. I washed, used a scrub brush and it’s still leaving splinters. So disappointed.
Jayne Westerholt says
Hi Cindy, I'm so sorry to hear that, I can understand that you are disappointed. You didn't say where the rolling pin was from but I would definitely contact the supplier and let them know. I'm sure they will be able to do something for you, perhaps they had a bad batch or something. I have a couple of embossed rolling pins from the supplier I recommend in this post and have never had anything like that happen with mine. I made a batch of cookies just last week and the pins were perfect. I also checked the supplier's customer feedback before purchasing my pins and there was no mention of this kind of thing happening otherwise I wouldn't have recommended them on my blog.
Jean says
I received one of these embossed rolling pins for Christmas. I just thought I already knew how to use it I can see that I should have googled you first. This article has been most helpful. I already had dough that we used for Christmas cookies and it did use powdered sugar. I should have prepared my rolling pin first and also left the cookies in the fridge for longer. I will try again. Thanks again for this most helpful article. We had just been to the German Christmas markets and saw many of the rolling pins. Didn't buy, but did buy a cookie stamp. I guess I would treat it the same way with the oil. Came home and received the embossed rolling pin for Christmas. Glad I waited.
Jean Davidson
Jayne Westerholt says
Hello Jean, thanks for your lovely comment! I hope you enjoyed the Christmas markets in Germany, I always feel the atmosphere there is like nothing else at Christmastime, it's just magical. What a lovely surprise to get an embossed rolling pin for Christmas! I hope my Christmas cookie post helps you get the best out of your pin. Have a lovely weekend!