Spritz Cookies
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Light, crisp, and so buttery, these spritz cookies are a beloved holiday tradition. So good with a warm cup of tea, coffee, or cocoa!
Ah, spritz cookies!
These cookies bring back SO many memories!
When I was little, there was really only one kind of cookie we ever made, and they were spritz.
We had a copper cookie press with a screw on the top, and we'd turn the screw, watch the dough come out, and then sprinkle the tops with colored sugar. It was a Christmas tradition, and one that I looked forward to all year long!
So, when I decided I should have a spritz recipe here, I messaged my mom and asked her if she still had the one we always used to use.
She did!
And she told me that the recipe had come from her sister, my Aunt Barbara. She told me Aunt Barb would make them every year. It was HER tradition!
In fact, she had so many Christmas traditions. She was really into Christmas, and would always work so hard to make sure it was special for everyone in the family. Cookies, gifts, decorations, all of it was led by Aunt Barbara.
So I'm really happy to be able to share this here, in honor of my Aunt!
A LOT of batches of spritz cookies made this post possible. I wanted to make sure I had everything just right! So, I did make a few tweaks to the original. But I think Aunt Barb would approve!
Spritz cookies can be a little tricky to make, so after all those batches I have a few tips that might make things easier:
- Cream the butter and sugar together until very pale and fluffy. This is a really important step! It will take a minimum of 5 minutes with an electric mixer. If you don't whip for the full 5 minutes, the dough will be too thick and dense, and it won't pass through the cookie press. This step will also 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.
And be sure to scroll past the recipe card, for an affiliate sales link to the cookie press I like best!
More great cookie recipes on my "Cookie Recipes Galore" Pinterest board!
This post contains affiliate sales links.
Spritz Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (340.5 g) unsalted butter, , softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) almond extract
- 1 large egg
- 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) kosher salt
- assorted colored sugars/sprinkles, for garnish
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.
- Sprinkle with colored sugar/sprinkles to garnish.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden around the edges.
I use the same exact press. LOVE IT. love spritz cookies. I change the color by adding food coloring when adding the flavorings. Or I divide the dough up at the end and make various colors. Just beat until blended in. Nothing more.
Thanks for sharing a great recipe! I made a batch to share with neighbors, family, and friends 🌲😊🌲
Hi Allie, I don’t have a cookie press. Do you think I could just roll them out with cookie cutters or would you recommend making a log and slicing? Thanks!
I think the slice and bake option would probably work better for this particular recipe. You could also use a piping bag with a jumbo tip. If you want to make cookie-cutter cookies, I'd recommend this recipe: https://bakingamoment.com/cutout-cookies-neat-edges/. Good luck!
The secret is vanilla sugar! Both my mom and mother law are German. Use the vanilla sugar!!
Here is a recipe for vanilla sugar: https://bakingamoment.com/make-vanilla-sugar/.
Hi , although I appreciate you letting us know the nutritional information of the spritz cookies , I got a good chuckle when you disclosed the calories are only 85, for approximately 60 small cookies . Wish that were true . You might want to correct that
Just checked it again, and it's right! The recipe makes approx. 60 cookies; each one is 85 calories. They are quite small, only about 1 1/2 inches per piece.
Can I make this dough refrigerated ahead of time and if so how much ahead of time? And would I have to get it room temp before pressing in the spritz press?
These taste amazing and I love the texture. Unfortunately, my press I got years ago as a gift absolutely sucks. I did two batches of spritz and got so frustrated with the press. Then I finally just chilled the couch and cut into shortbread rectangles. Still delicious.
So happy you liked the recipe Jenny! The press can be a bit cumbersome at times, I hear you on that!
I have a pampered chef cookie press and the dough wouldn’t go through it. I had to roll it out and use cookie cutters.
So sorry you had trouble Marie! That first step of creaming the butter and sugar together is critical. You need to whip those ingredients together for the full 5 minutes to get lots of air in. If you skimp on that step, the dough will be too thick and heavy, and it will not pass through the press easily. Hope you have better luck next time!
Is it possible to make different flavors ?
Absolutely! Feel free to get creative!
These are the best Spritz Cookies i have ever made. The dough is very easy to work with. The flavor is very good. I did dip them in a glaze then added colored sugars.
So happy you liked them Carole! Your decorations sound gorgeous!
Wow, these are wonderful! I've been baking with my little granddaughters, now 5 and 8, over the last few years. They were so excited to use a cookie press and experience making Spritz cookies for the first time. They want to open their own bakery when they grow up. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Aw, that is adorable Helen! I'm so happy you and your granddaughters had fun with this recipe!
Hi can i have the ingredients in ounces or metric instead of cups? Im finding it difficult to try translate.
Just click the "metric" button right below the list of ingredients!
Cathy. I always use lemon extract. It's from an old cookie press recipe. Very old and very good!
Can you add all almond extract or would that be to much?
I think that would be delicious!
I googled the "best spritz cookie ever" and your recipe came up. I read the comments and tired it. I really didn't look at any other recipes before trying it. If I did I might have noticed that the flour is double most of the recipes out there. 4 cups of flour to 1-1/2 cup of butter makes for a very dry cookie. I'm just wondering if 4 cups of flour is correct for your recipe? I wouldn't make this again, not what I expected.
Thanks
It's correct! I found that more flour worked better. The cookies bake up crunchy and light, with a nice buttery flavor. Hope you enjoy!
I love these! Reminds me of when I was little.