These classic Spritz Cookies are so perfect for the holidays!
There’s nothing that screams “Christmas!” to me more than spritz cookies. As a child, these were the only Christmas cookies we ever made in my family. And I didn’t mind a bit- because not only are they so light and buttery, they’re also so much fun to make.
To make spritz, you will first need a cookie press. This is how you get those iconic shapes. They’re easy to find online or in stores at this time of year. And they’re really easy to use too. Just fill the tube with cookie dough and pull the trigger to form a cookie.
The dough itself is as simple as can be. It’s made from all the basics you probably already have in your cupboard: butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, and a few extracts just to boost the flavor. Sometimes simple is best!
You can decorate these cookies in all sorts of ways: by tinting the dough, by sprinkling with colored sugar, or by adding accents like sugar pearls. But for this post, I’ve chosen to keep things simple with just a pinch of white sparkling sugar and a few white nonpareils.
Here are a few tips that will make your spritz cookies the best they can be:
- Cream the butter and sugar together until very pale and fluffy. This takes about 5 minutes with an electric mixer, and it will help your cookies to be so light and tender!
- Don’t overwork the dough once the flour has been added. Just mix until the flour is incorporated and then stop. Otherwise, your cookies could come out tough.
- Don’t grease your baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. Usually, I’m a parchment paper girl, but in this case it will cause the dough to adhere more to your cookie press than to your baking sheet.
- You might need to click the cookie press more than once to get the dough to release.
- Bake just until beginning to turn golden around the edges.
- Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature.
Make these cookies a holiday tradition in your family too!
Spritz Cookies
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 large egg
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until very pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
- Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts until incorporated.
- Add the egg and beat until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir together until just barely combined.
- Load the dough into a cookie press, and form shapes on baking sheets and garnish as desired.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden around the edges.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Here are a few more cookie recipes you might enjoy:
- Simply Perfect Chocolate Sugar Cookies by Baking a Moment
- White Chocolate Dipped Ginger Cookies by Cooking Classy
- Peanut Butter Blossoms by If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies by Recipe Girl
Hello! I am wondering how far ahead of Christmas the Spritz Cookies can be made. Also, can you tell you please tell me how best to store these so they do not get stale AND do not get too soft. Thank you so much!
M. Williams
I’d just store them in a covered container. They should be fine from now until Christmas!
These cookies are so cute! I love the shape of spritz cookies, and I bet these taste great!