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These German Spritz Cookies are a holiday classic. Light, buttery, and dipped in chocolate, you can make these spritz cookies in any shape you like. They’re a tasty Christmas cookie and fun to make with the whole family!
These German Spritz Cookies are buttery, tender, and melt in your mouth. They’re perfect with a cup of coffee or for sharing during the holidays. These make wonderful Christmas cookies and stand out as a nice contrast to some of the more decadent fare. Plus, they get even better on the second and third day!
And as an added bonus, this spritz cookie recipe is super easy to make. And you know I love any cookie covered in chocolate! It makes them look nice, and the added texture and flavor are perfect. The chocolate coating also helps keep the cookies fresh for longer.
We’ll be making these light, sweet spritz cookies in the traditional S-shape today, but you can make them into all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Have fun with it and make this recipe your own!
Spritz cookies come from the German word Spritzen, which means to squirt. It refers to how these cookies are ‘squirted’ or piped to create beautiful shapes. Germans started making this popular Christmas cookie called Spritzgebäck using a cookie press. In fact, they’re thought to have been one of the first cultures to use a cookie press!
Spritz cookies are similar to shortbread and sugar cookies, with a few notable differences. Shortbread doesn’t use eggs, but these German cookies do. And both sugar cookies and shortbread are commonly rolled and cut into various shapes, so the dough is thicker. Spritz cookie dough has to be a little softer so it can be piped or pressed into shapes.
What You’ll Need
These classic German cookies are a holiday favorite all over the world! If you love sugar cookies, chocolate, and sprinkles, you’ll be in cookie heaven. Scroll down to the recipe card for specific quantities.
- Unsalted Butter: Bring your butter to room temperature.
- Granulated Sugar
- Egg: The egg acts as a binder and also adds moisture. Without it, the spritz cookies would be more crumbly. Bring this to room temperature as well.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor. Feel free to switch it up with some almond extract, if you like.
- All-Purpose Flour: I recommend using a food scale to weigh your flour in order to avoid over-measuring it. Using too much flour will result it dry, dense and crumbly cookies.
- Salt: For flavor, be sure not to leave it out.
- Milk: For just enough extra moisture to make the cookie dough pipe-able.
- Melting Chocolate: I used Ghirardelli melting wafers, but Wilton also has something similar. Almond bark and Candiquik work well too.
- Sprinkles: If desired, add your favorite sprinkles onto the chocolate part of your cookies.
Follow these steps and your German Spritz cookies will turn out great every time!
To Make the Cookies
- Preheat the Oven. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare the Baking Sheets. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Cream the Butter and Sugar. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl on medium speed until it becomes light in color and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes. You should be able to see the mixture lighten in color and develop a creamy texture. That’s how you’ll know it’s ready.
- Add the Egg. Add the egg and mix until well combined.
- Add the Vanilla. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the Dry Ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix everything until the dough comes together. Once the dough has just combined, remove the bowl from themixer and finish stirring with a rubber spatula if needed. Take care to not overmix the dough.
- Add Milk. Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time to get the dough to a pipeable consistency. The best way to test this is to put a little bit in your piping bag and see if it pipes. You don’t want to add milk if the dough doesn’t need it, otherwise the cookies will spread too much and lose their shape.
- Pipe the Cookies. Pipe the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet. I used an Ateco tip 825 and found that to be the best size. I recommend an open star tip, as opposed to a closed star. You don’t want it to be too big or your cookies will spread more. They will spread a bit in the oven, so do leave some space between each cookie.
- Bake. Bake the spritz cookies for about 10-12 minutes, or just before they turn golden on the edges. Timing can vary by oven as well as the size of your piping tip and the size of cookie it makes. Keep an eye on them because they can go from perfect to overcooked quickly.
- Cool. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Decorate the Cookies
- Dip in Chocolate. Melt the chocolate according to the package directions. Dip part of each cookie into the chocolate and shake off the excess.
- Add Sprinkles. Place the cookies on a cooling rack or parchment paper to dry. If you like, add sprinkles at this stage before the chocolate sets.
Tips for Success
- Measure flour accurately: It’s important to measure all your ingredients accurately, but flour is the one that causes the most issues. If you don’t have enough, your cookies will spread too much and not hold shape. If you have too much, they will be dry, dense and crumbly. Use the scoop and level method, or to be sure of accuracy, use a food scale. I use this OXO food scale, but this one would also work well.
- Don’t over bake the cookies: These cookies can easily go from tender and melt in your mouth to crumbly and dry. Bake just until they not longer look shiny and are JUST beginning to brown on the bottom.
- Only add as much milk as needed: Adding too much milk can cause your cookies to overspread and lose their shape. When in doubt, leave the dough a little thicker. You can always add more milk, but you can’t remove it after it’s added.
- Adjust baking time: While the “S” shape is a little more traditional, you can pipe these into any shape you like. Just keep in mind that other shapes may not bake quite as long if they’re a little smaller.
Store any leftover German cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature. They should stay good for up to a week if they last that long!
Yes! Spritz cookies freeze very well. Take any leftover cookies and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. You can store them in the freezer for up to a month.
Print
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 16-20 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: German
Description
These delicious German Spritz Cookies are a holiday classic. Light, buttery, and dipped in chocolate, you can make these spritz cookies in any shape you like. They’re a tasty Christmas cookie and fun to make with the whole family!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (104g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups (293g) all purpose flour (measured correctly)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1–3 tsp milk
- 6–8 oz melting chocolate
- Sprinkles, optional
Instructions
To Make the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. You should be able to see the mixture lighten in color and get a creamy texture and know it’s ready.
- Add the egg and mix until well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until the dough is just combined, then remove the bowl from the mixer and finish combining with a rubber spatula, if needed. Do not over mix.
- Add milk a teaspoon at a time as needed to get a pipeable consistency. The best way to test this is to put a little bit in a piping bag and see if it pipes. You don’t want to add milk if you don’t need it, because then the cookies will spread more.
- Pipe the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet. I used Ateco tip 825 and found that to be the best size. I recommend an open star tip, as opposed to a closed star. You don’t want it to be too big or your cookies will spread more. They will spread a bit in the oven, so do leave some space between each cookie.
- Bake cookies for about 10-12 minutes, or just before they turn golden on the edges. Timing can vary by oven as well as the size of your piping tip and the size of cookie it makes.
- Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Decorate the Cookies
- To dip the cookies in chocolate, melt the chocolate according to the package directions.
- Dip part of each cookie into the chocolate and then shake off the excess.
- Place on parchment paper to dry and add the sprinkles of your choice, if desired.
Notes
Store cookies in an air tight container at room temperature. They should stay good for up to a week.
Can the piped cookies be put in the refrigerator before baking to prevent spreading?
Sure, that’d be fine.
Hi! I haven’t made these yet but I was wondering, am I able to freeze the dough before it’s baked? or can these cookies only be frozen after they are baked?
Thanks in advance!
I haven’t tested it that way to be able to say for sure. Generally cookie dough does fine with being frozen, so I’d think it’d be fine.
Any way to use almond flour instead to make these gluten free?
Possibly, I just haven’t tested it to be able to say.
Look up Linzer cookies. Those traditionally have almond flour.