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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’m concerned about using 293g of flour. The correct weight of 1 cup of flour is 120g so that should be 270g. Am I missing something? I even tried using a 1 c measure by lightly using a scoop to put the flour in the cup and it was 275g. I use a scale for all my baking now to get a perfect baked good. I am so anxious to use this recipe but I don’t want them to be dry. Thank you
Different sources give different amounts. What I can tell you is that I use my recipe as written with the grams measurements, so they are accurate.
I actually have the original paper with instructions from a Super Shooter purchased in 1976 and made cookies today with a friend. She had never heard of cookies made with a cookie press. I have a newer press as well, but the original performs much better. I used the original recipe and baked on insulated aluminum cookie pans. They came out great and my friend had a fun time learning to use the press. She took home a holiday tin full of cookies decorated with different colors of sugar. While I had everything out, I made another batch of dough and will use it tomorrow to make some cookies for my house! Oh, they tasted great!
I don’t have silicone mats. Will it work to bake directly on the baking sheet?
You can certainly try it. I’m guessing they’d press fine. Question is if they stick to the cookie sheet after baking or over-brown on the bottom. If you try it, I’d try a light colored baking sheet.
I really enjoy this recipe and personally add 1 tsp. Cream of Tartar.
Do you have any recommendations for converting the recipe for high altitude baking?
I’m glad you enjoy them! I’m not really familiar with high altitude baking. Maybe this guide would be helpful.
Great flavor and softness
So glad to hear that!
What does cream of tartar do for the cookies!
what does creme of tartar do to this recipe
Thank you for your note regarding parchment paper. I have always used it for cookies and had given up on spritz. Another tip I found elsewhere was – if using an old style cookie press – to rotate it to the desired amount then back it off 1/4 turn. I am hoping that these two tips will resolve my issues and enable me to resume baking spritz cookies this year.
I hope they work out well!
Hi there, I’m wanting to try these this year for Christmas, is there really not baking soda or baking powder in this particular recipe? Just making sure as I’m writing it out by hand cuz I’m out of printer ink and I thought I forgot to write it. Thank you.
Yes, that’s correct.
I have a problem. After triggering the dough through the shape, ithe cookie will not release.
I have some tips in the blog post and in the video. But I find that a silicone baking mat works best, because even though it’s non-sitck in nature, the dough will stick to it just enough to release. Parchment paper, while I love it, is a little too non-stick.
Are there any changes for high altitude?
I’m not really familiar with high altitude baking, but maybe this guide will be helpful.
I love this cookie!!! Our first batch is quickly becoming a practice run because we keep eating them all up! My batter was really thick… any ideas? Did I mix too long with mixer? They still taste and look fabulous!
I’m glad you’re enjoying them! As far as thick batter, it’s hard for me to say without seeing what it’s like, but if the cookies are turning out nice, I’m wondering it it’s correct, but just seems thick? What makes you think there’s something wrong? Are they not baking properly somehow?
Can these be frozen?
Yes, just keep in mind that if you use sprinkles, the color could bleed.
About one in three cookies are usable and most of those are misshapen. I need help with the BLOB problem!! It says no need to chill first, but could that be a solution?
Does BLOB stand for something? Are you having trouble with them sticking and staying when you press them? I mention in the blog post that I highly recommend using a silicon baking mat, because that was the best thing for having the cookies stay in place when pressing them, and it’s non stick. Parchment paper doesn’t work as well because the cookie dough doesn’t really stick to it.
I’m allergic to all nuts, so I have to use the almond extract?
You can use another extract that works for your allergies. Maybe vanilla extract?
Can I replace the almond extract? My son is allergic to tree nuts.
Definitely!
My son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. I can use McCormick or Watkins imitation almond extract, it’s made with apricot pits. Just make sure it isn’t pure almond extract. Before I knew this I would use 2tsp of vanilla extract.
Would I be able to substitute the flour for 1:1 GF flour?
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine that would be fine.
Why do mine always spread out and never retain the shaape?
It’s a balance of the wet and dry ingredients. If they are spreading too much, you might be under measuring your flour or over measuring something like your butter or sugar.
can i add almond paste and if so how much?
Probably, I’ve just never used it myself to be able to say how much.