Apple Cranberry Walnut Swirl Cookies

* The holiday blend I used was the Cinnamon Plus by Pampered Chef. You can make your own depending on what spices you add together. Usually, it is cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and more. It does not have to be all them just what you like. Pampered Chef added orange peel in theirs, and that sounded really good to me. Just had to try it...

Peel and dice the Granny smith apple and diced it pretty small. These pieces will need to go into a well in the center of the cookie. Zest and juice 1 lemon into 2 bowls and set aside.

In a medium-size saucepan, add the cranberries, diced apple pieces, water, and sugar, bringing the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Don't worry about the size of the whole cranberries. They will pop open and become small. Stir constantly for about 10 minutes till the cranberries open, and the apple pieces soften. Add the lemon zest and juice plus the holiday spice blend. Stir and cook until it starts to thicken and become syrupy. Transfer to glass containers to cool. This recipe for the jam will make 2 batches of these cookies. I have 4 small canning jars that I put mine into to cool. I used the last 2 for this recipe.

Weigh or measure the sugar into a bowl and set aside. Weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, salt, and run a whisk through to blend. In a stand or handheld mixer, blend the butter and the cream cheese on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and blend another two minutes on medium speed. I scrape down the sides and across the bottom and mix for another 30 seconds. Add the vanilla extract and the apple juice. Add one egg at a time till incorporated. Turn the mixer down to low and slowly add the flour mixture.

On a floured pastry sheet, transfer the cookie dough and pat down into a shape you can divide in half. The dough will be tacky, so flour as much as you need to so you can shape it. Divide in half, so you have 2 square shapes and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Taking one of the wrapped cookie dough rectangles out of the refrigerator, place on a well-floured pastry sheet. It would help if you had something under your rolled out dough so that after you add the filling, you can roll it into a log shape. You need to roll the cookie dough on something other than your countertop. Taking your Apple Cranberry Homemade Jam and spread it onto the rolled out cookie dough. I take about a handful of chopped walnuts and sprinkle on top of the jam. Start rolling and lifting the pastry sheet at the same time till you get to the end. I tear off a piece of plastic wrap and lift the pastry mat, so it rolls the log onto the wrap. Then I finish rolling the log and shape it a little better. I have 2 paper towel center rolls that I have cut in half. I put 2 halves together and put a log on it for support. Since there are 2 logs, I needed 2 center paper towel cut in half. Set on a pan and put it into the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat your oven to 350° and line your cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Taking one of the cookie logs out of the refrigerator and slice it into about 1/2 inch slices. Line the cookies about 2" apart (I get 12 to a pan) and bake for 13 - 15 minutes. You don't want any shiny dough on the top. Take them out of the oven and let them sit for 2-4 minutes on the cookie sheet pan before moving them to a cooling rack.