These are my favorite spritz cookies! Using a cookie press, shape this easy buttery cookie dough into intricate shapes and have fun decorating with sprinkles, chocolate, and chocolate chips. No cookie dough chilling required and the cookies freeze and ship wonderfully.
We started my annual 10-day Christmas cookie countdown yesterday with peppermint bark cookies and I have an equally festive classic Christmas cookie recipe for you today.
These are my favorite spritz cookies.
What Are Spritz Cookies?
Spritz cookies are a lot like sugar cookies. They’re buttery and sweet and, with the right recipe, hold their intricate shape when baked. Sugar cookies are shaped with cookie cutters and spritz cookies are shaped with a cookie press. Spritz cookies are also similar to shortbread cookies, but spritz cookies usually contain an egg. Eggs help the spritz cookies hold their shape when baked, so they don’t crumble like shortbread cookies do.
The word “spritz” actually comes from the German word spritzen which means “to squirt.” This refers to squirting or pushing the cookie dough through a cookie press. I don’t know why, but I always associate the word spritz with “spritely” because spritz cookies remind me of something little spritely fairies would eat!
What Is a Cookie Press?
I added a cookie press to my baking tools collection a few years ago. Inside this baking tool is a metal plate with a stenciled shape. A cookie press presses your cookie dough through the metal plate to create beautifully shaped cookies. It’s actually a lot easier than a rolling pin and cookie cutters!
- I recommend this OXO cookie press. This is not a sponsored post; I genuinely love this cookie press. It’s the easiest to use and comes with 12 different shapes you can swap out. Just read the hundreds of positive reviews. It also makes a wonderful holiday gift! I always include it in my annual Holiday Baking Gift Guide.
How to Make Spritz Cookies
This is my favorite recipe for spritz cookies. I love it so much that I published it in my cookbook Sally’s Cookie Addiction. Here’s why this is my favorite:
- Uses very basic ingredients
- 1-bowl recipe
- No dough-chilling required
- Fun to decorate, with no separate icing recipe required: Use sprinkles, chocolate chips, melted chocolate; and try tinting some of the dough a color.
- Freezer-friendly: After thawing, they still taste fresh!
- Ship wonderfully: These cookies hold their shape during the journey! Learn more about how to ship cookies.
The dough comes together in 1 bowl, using a mixer. There is no baking powder or baking soda needed; these buttery spritz cookies are dense, not airy. They hardly spread, so you can fit a bunch onto your baking sheets. Since the cookies are small, you can use 1 batch of dough to make a variety of shapes with your cookie press. You can even tint some of the cookie dough red or green like you see in my pictures!
How Do I Use a Cookie Press?
Each press comes with a set of instructions and the OXO cookie press I recommend is super user-friendly. Select a plate, such as the snowflake shape, and place it in the bottom compartment. After your cookie dough is prepared, spoon it inside the tube. Attach the top of the cookie press to the tube. Hold the cookie press upright, with the bottom pressed against your baking sheet. Press the lever until it clicks and lift up the cookie press. The shaped cookie will be on your baking sheet! *If the cookie dough sticks to the cookie press, use your fingers or a knife to release it and place onto the cookie sheet.
- No Cookie Press? Instead, use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (13 mm) open star tip and use my butter cookies recipe, which is this cookie dough with a little milk to help make it pipe-able. 🙂
Can I admit I prefer making these over decorating sugar cookies with royal icing? Ha!!! Spritz cookies are much neater and faster to make, and are festive right out of the oven!
Print
My Favorite Spritz Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 84 bite-size cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are my favorite spritz cookies! Using a cookie press, shape this easy cookie dough into intricate shapes and have fun decorating with sprinkles, chocolate, and chocolate chips. No cookie dough chilling required and they freeze and ship wonderfully.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- optional: gel food coloring, sprinkles, chocolate chips, and melted chocolate for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 or 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- On low speed, beat in the flour and salt. Turn up to high speed and beat until completely combined.
- Press the dough: Follow cookie press manufacturer’s directions to fit your cookie press with a decorative plate. Scrape some of the dough into your cookie press. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to the lined baking sheet and press out the cookies 2 inches (5 cm) apart. If desired, decorate the shaped cookie dough with sprinkles or press a chocolate chip into the center. Note: It’s helpful to lightly brush the shaped cookie dough with water before adding sprinkles—this helps them stick.
- If the cookie dough becomes too soft as you work, chill the shaped cookie dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking.
- Bake until very lightly browned on the edges, 7–9 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, drizzle with melted chocolate.
- Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to 4 days before pressing the dough through the cookie press. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months; allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before continuing with step 4. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months; thaw before serving.
- Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Green Food Coloring | OXO Cookie Press | Silpat Baking Mat | Baking Sheet | Cooling Rack | Red Sanding Sugar | Green Sanding Sugar | Wilton Pearlized Sugar | Christmas Nonpareils
- Almond Extract: Almond extract adds such a wonderful flavor and I don’t recommend skipping it. If desired, you can leave it out completely or add another 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in its place. You can also substitute with 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, lemon extract, or another flavor extract you enjoy. Adding 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon is delicious too!
- Food Coloring: I tinted 1/4 of the cookie dough green with 1 very tiny drop of green food coloring. I recommend gel food coloring. Use sparingly; 2 drops is plenty for the entire batch.
- No Cookie Press? No problem! Instead, use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (13 mm) open star tip and use my butter cookies recipe, which is this cookie dough with a little milk to help make it pipe-able.
Keywords: spritz cookies
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Reader Questions and Reviews
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I envy everyone who had a great result with this recipe. I am making them in Norway so maybe ingredients are slightly different and I used my age old cookie press. It wouldn’t release and this recipe didn’t work out at all even trying your advice about cold cookie sheets. I ended throwing out the dough and the cookie press. Will order a new cookie press and try again next year.
I am right there with you—my cookies were an absolute fail.
I also was unable to press the cookies. I followed the recipe exactly, including spooning the flour. I ended up rolling the dough and using cookie cutters. The flavor is good. It’s just not what I was planning to bake.
Karen, pay closer attention to the flour and butter mix, if its off and on the dry side, no press will work. Good Luck.
I laughed that u threw out the cookie press and dough! I didn’t throw mine out but I have 2 cookie presses that never seem to work! I am throwing them both out! What brand did u replace the cookie press with and sis it work?
Please advise, thanks!
I haven’t tried this recipe but they are all so similar. I’ve used many cookie press. The OXO is the way to go! And start with an easy shape such as the heart. If it doesn’t look good toss is back in dough bowl and keep trying til you get the hang of it. There is a tension that you will feel in the handle that is just right.
I love this recipe real easy ive made it 2 times so far and never had any problems so thank you Linda
I just made these today. They turned out perfect and they are absolutely delicious! When the dough started to not stick, I followed the advice of previous comments and put my cookie sheet in the refrigerator for a few minutes. After that, the press worked perfectly again. The almond flavor is perfect! Thanks for a great recipe.
★★★★★
These cookies are so good. Yep, I had problems at first with the press/dough. My mother-in-law used to make these when my husband was young and he would do the press. I had never done it so I researched a bit beforehand. I chilled the cookie sheets ahead of time because I always have trouble with warm cookie dough because I have a wood cookstove in the kitchen which makes it very hot in the kitchen. So he’s clicking 2x and still they are sticky. I put the PRESS in the fridge, then I did it on ONE click…I had no further problems. Dough cannot be too warm and chilled sheets helps the process.
★★★★★
I made these for the first time and worked out well with no problems at all except they went to fast. Good Job.
This was my first time using a cookie press – it got easier as time went on. I’m sorry I did not see the recommendation to chill the cookie tin. That probably would’ve made things easier. But the cookies tasted delicious. It’s all I can do not to just sit with a plate of them and eat them all while I watch TV.
★★★★★
Followed exactly and even tried to chill the dough. They failed and i have never had a problem with spritz cookies i just couldn’t find my original recipe again. The proportions here might be wrong… the cookies flatten out chilled or not chilled.
Hi Dee, Thank you for trying this recipe. If you ever try this recipe again, make sure your butter is cool at room temperature— that’s the usual culprit behind cookies over-spreading. You can also chill the shaped cookies in the freezer before they go into the oven. The colder the shaped dough, the less they will over-spread. Sorry for the trouble!
Out of all the cookie recipes I’ve tried from this website, these were absolute fail and just jammed in the cookie press. So I went back to my original recipe without any problems. . ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
★
Made these with no problem, even with it being my first time using my cookie press. I chilled the dough in between each batch. Took 25 mins not 9! I put icing on some cookies but I prefer without. The almond extract is a Must! Do not skip!
★★★★★
This recipe was perfect and my cookies were amazing. I followed the recipe exactly but doubled it. I put my baking sheets in the fridge because I learned from last year. I also iced them and they are soooooo good.
★★★★★
My first time using a biscuit press after receiving one for Christmas and I can’t believe how well this recipe worked – I am a novice at baking and usually have lots of disasters when making anything, but this worked a treat! The consistency of the dough was perfect for the press and the almond extract with the vanilla extract is just delicious. Thank you!
★★★★★
These taste amazing, just like I remember from childhood. I splurged for a good, heavy cookie sheet and got the OXO cookie press because I never had success with my old press. Wow that’s a good design. I made perfectly shaped, pressed cookie and I have arthritis.
Sorry Sal, these did not work for me. Followed your recipe down to the gram measurements too. Added an extra 1/4 cup flour plus extra 1/4 cup cornflour and it did the trick. Thanks anyway!
★★★
This is the first time in maybe 35-40 years that I decided to make spritz cookies. I have my moms “vintage” Mirro cookie press. When I was in high school, I made 1000s of spritz cookies. I no longer have my original recipe, so I went online. I saw Sally’s and I trust her recipes. I followed it exactly. Epic fail. First of all cookies wouldn’t stick to parchment. I added a little more flour for a stiffer dough. Then I removed parchment. Flavor is so so. And it does not make 84 little heart cookies. I will look for another recipe. Sorry, Sally, not good.
★★
Use 3 egg yolks instead of one whole egg and it will go through the press perfectly! Yum!!
I’m just waiting on my last batch in the oven … these cookies are so easy and taste great! I can’t believe I’ve never used a cookie press in my life! Made little hearts for Valentine’s Day and will be drizzling them with melted chocolate and putting sprinkles on. Thanks for sharing Sally!
★★★★★
This worked well for me. I did notice that if there was any grease or if I tried to use the pan again for the 2nd batch without washing and cooling the sheet it was more difficult to release the cookies from the gun. I have a trusty Wilton press. I did also cook them at 400° or they spread too much on the pan.
★★★★★
This was my first time making spritz cookies and I thought these were delicious! Even my ugliest cookies got consumed. Like others, I also struggled to get my cookies to release from my press- I had read a tip somewhere about cooling the cookie sheet before pressing the cookies, and that seemed to help immensely with getting them to stick to the pan. I also followed Sally’s tip about brushing the cookies with water before adding sprinkles, and my sprinkles didn’t roll off! Great recipe! If I ever have the energy to make spritz cookies again, I will definitely make this recipe.
★★★★★
What’s the consistency of the dough like?
Hi Sarah, it’s quite a thick dough. You can see photos in the post above for a visual!
Is there anything to bear in mind when unscrewing/screwing when refilling with more dough? Does it all have to be perfectly clean in order for the shapes to come out nicely, or does that not really afect a clean cut? I mean if some dough gets gets in the corners/edges…
Hi Mike, just do your best to refill the dough, it make take some practice to get your preferred technique down. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
Hello! I had the same problem as many of the comments (cookies not sticking and coming out of the press clean) even slightly chilled. What worked for me was removing the parchment paper I had been using and pressing them directly onto the sheet. Not sure if this will work for everyone – but it worked for me and the cookies came out great! I am new to Spritz Cookies, so I appreciate and agree with the comment above about getting the tension just right. For me, with my OXO cookie press, I am finding it is one full click and then a little extra to get the perfect press!
Good luck, everyone!
★★★★
Would it be possible to make these chocolate? If so, how much cocoa powder would you add?
Hi Carla, try adding 1/3 cup cocoa powder, and make sure to sift it to remove clumps. Let us know how they turn out!
The original recipe is delicious. Thank you for the cocoa powder information. With the addition of the cocoa powder, would you eliminate the almond extract or keep it as is? I should have asked before. Thank you.
★★★★★
Do not use parchment! The cookies will not release onto parchment. They do, however, stick to a cookie sheet. Parchment isn’t necessary. Butter cookies do not stick. I’m not sure about silicon baking matts, as I didn’t use one.