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These Spritz Cookies are buttery, tender and such festive Christmas cookies! The cookie dough is super easy to put together and there’s so many ways to decorate them. A great make-ahead cookie!
Looking for more Christmas cookie recipes? Try my soft gingerbread cookies, or these easy cut out sugar cookies!
I’m going to be honest with you. Spritz cookies never used to appeal to me. Whenever I had them they were store-bought versions or something and they were usually super crispy and lacked flavor. Well as with most things, when you make themselves and see how they should really taste, it changes everything!!
These Spritz Cookies are so dang good! Where have they been all my life?!? As long as you don’t over bake them, they are super soft and tender and stay that was for at least a week. They have a lovely buttery flavor that is accentuated with some soft almond flavor and together it all just melts right in your mouth! I literally couldn’t stop eating them.
And bonus – they are SUPER easy to make! The cookie dough comes together easily and doesn’t need to be refrigerated. And the cookies don’t really spread while baking and their small, so you can make a bunch at a time – quickly and easily!
Now before we go into how to make these awesome cookies, lets talk about what they are exactly. The word “spritz” comes from the German word “spritzen”, which means “to squirt”. They are basically named for the way they are made – by squirting/pressing the cookie dough through a cookie press.
As for taste and texture of these cookies, I would describe them as a cross between a cutout sugar cookie and shortbread. They are like sugar cookies in their simple flavor and the fact that you make them into shapes, but with sugar cookies you’ll use cookie cutters and with spritz cookies, you use a cookie press (which is easier and faster!). They are kind of like shortbread in texture – but totally better. Shortbread is often more dry and crumbly. With the addition of the egg to these cookies, they are more tender and don’t fall apart when you bite into them. Instead they melt in your mouth!
Step 1: Make and Color Your Cookie Dough
- Make the cookie dough. You’ll cream the butter and sugar together, then add the egg and the extracts (I use a little vanilla and almond). Finally, add the flour and salt and mix just until combined.
- Color your cookie dough. If you want to use a few colors, divide your dough into parts and color it. I recommend gel icing color, not food coloring. Gel icing color allows you to add a small amount to achieve bright color. With food coloring you have to add a lot and it thins out your cookie dough, which will cause your cookies to spread too much.
Step 2: Add Your Cookie Dough to a Cookie Press
Now you add your cookie dough to the cookie press and shape your cookies! I’m a big fan of this cookie press, but feel free to use whichever you have.
How to Use a Cookie Press
You’ll add the plate of the shape you want to make to the bottom of the press and then add your cookie dough into the top. Hold the press upright with the bottom directly on the cookie sheet. Press the lever to release a cookie, then lift up the press and you have your cookie!
If the cookie dough sticks to the press, you can use your finger to gently release the cookie. If it holds it’s shape, great. If not, add it back to your press and keep going. It is important to not try to press the cookies out onto something that’s really non-stick, like parchment paper, or you will have trouble.
Step 3: Decorate Your Spritz Cookies!
To decorate the cookies, I used a variety of sprinkles. The options are endless when it comes to sprinkles. But you could also decorate them with chocolate chips or add a chocolate drizzle after baking them.
Step 4: Bake Your Spritz Cookies
Now it’s time to bake the cookies. I wanted to be sure that my cookies were super soft and tender, so I baked them just until they were done – about 5 minutes. Definitely don’t over bake them and dry them out.
The final cookies are purely amazing! Soft, tender and buttery! It’s hard not to eat one right after the other until they’re all gone! These will definitely be a hit for you this Christmas!
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- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 65-70 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Spritz Cookies are buttery, tender and such festive Christmas cookies! The cookie dough is super easy to put together and there’s so many ways to decorate them. A great make-ahead cookie!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (155) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups (293g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Red gel icing color, optional
- Green gel icing color, optional
- Sprinkles
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats. I don’t recommend parchment paper with these cookies. You want the cookie dough to stick to the surface you press them onto and parchment paper is non-stick. Set cookie sheets aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. You should be able to see the mixture lighten in color and get a creamy texture and know it’s ready.
3. Add the egg and mix until well combined.
4. Add the vanilla extract and almond extract and mix until well combined.
5. Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is combined, then remove the bowl from the mixer and finish combining with a rubber spatula, if needed. Do not over mix.
6. If coloring some of the cookie dough, divide it into parts. I used white, red and green, so I divided it evenly into three parts.
7. Use the gel icing color to color the dough. Add small amounts to begin with, then add more as needed. You can always add additional color, but can’t remove it if you add too much. Adding too much liquid will thin out your cookie dough a bit.
8. Add one of the colors of cookie dough to your cookie press (I use this one) and follow the directions for your press to set it up. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to your cookie sheet and press out the cookies. They can be fairly close together, since they don’t really spread.
9. Decorate the cookies with sprinkles, if desired.
10. Bake cookies for 5-8 minutes. I prefer them nice and soft, so I went with 5 minutes, but feel free to increase that time and adjust based on your oven.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
12. Store cookies in an air tight container for up to about 1 week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 48
- Sugar: 2.2 g
- Sodium: 18.1 mg
- Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.2 g
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 9.6 mg
I love this recipe so much!! Can I make dough ahead of time and freeze it? I think last year I took it out to thaw the night before using it?
Yes, that should be fine. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
I want to try this recipe but have a nut allergy and was wondering what can be used instead of the almond extract. If I just exclude it without replacing that ingredient, will it affect the baking?
You could use any flavor you like. Vanilla, coconut, anise, strawberry, mint – there are lots of clear extracts that would taste great.
Perfect recipe! Delicious cookies that I couldn’t stop eating. Even better the next day. Followed the recipe to a tee. Placed cookie sheet in freezer. Used silpat on some, nothing on others. Both worked! I prefer them brown on the edges for dipping in coffee / tea. Will make again!
Can I add more sugar? I like them sweet !Would that affect the baking ?
More sugar means more moisture, which will cause them to spread more and not hold their shape as well. I would not recommend it.
Haven’t made recipe yet but can you also use a pastry bag and tip.instead of cookie press
Yes, that would be fine.
Hi – what if I don’t have silicone baking sheets?
Sorry for the delay in responding. I found silicone baking mats to work best, since parchment paper is non-stick and you actually want the cookie dough to stick. You could try pressing them directly onto your baking sheet. If it’s a non-stick baking sheet, that could be tough. They also might brown a little more on the bottom during baking.
Delicate, buttery and so good! I made these for Christmas and everyone loved them! Thank you for this recipe. ❤
My cookies are not sticking at all. Not even to the ungreased cookie sheet. And there’s way too much almond. I tossed the first batch and started over without it.
Cookie dough is too stiff.
We made these for Christmas this year—followed your recipe to a T. This was our first time making spritz cookies and they turned out fantastic! Bake time of 5-8 minutes was spot on and the cookies came out slightly crunchy around the edges and soft in the middle. Thanks so much! Will definitely make them again.
I have used this recipe several times and my cookies turn out beautifully every single time. And they taste soooo good. Everyone loves them. Thank you!!!
So much easier than the recipe I used to use that came with my spritzer! I didn’t have unsalted butter so I just omitted the salt. They came out perfectly! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed them!
I made this recipe with a heaping 3/4C granulated sugar and heaping 1tsp almond extract, and closer to 2 1/8C flour and it was a little more flavorful! Delicious!
What an easy recipe to make and pump out onto those silpat sheets! I found that the last batch was a bit gooey and spread a bit much, so I made a note to myself to store the dough in the refrigerator between batches. They look and taste amazing.
I finally found a recipe that works with my cookie press! Fun to make; delicious to eat! I am not crazy about almond flavor so I eliminated it. But other than that, I loved the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed them!
I’ve yet TO make these but plan on it very soon!!🙌 I still have my Momma’s 1940’s Norwegian spritz cookie press!! Found this recipe by accident!! Came here from a Google link for the cranberry white fudge recipe!!! (Also making very soon!!🤞🤞) Health just isn’t making it possible for me now. But I’m going to try on a “good day”!! Cooking IS my therapy!! Thank you for posting such awesome recipes!!❤️ I’m signed up for notifications from you directly now!!🙌😁👍
Awesome! I’m so glad you came across my site. I hope you enjoy them when you’re able to try them!