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 the cookies freeze and ship wonderfully.
Welcome to day 2 in Sally’s Cookie Palooza!
We started my annual 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 (and more fun) than a rolling pin and cookie cutter!
- 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!
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:
- BASIC INGREDIENTS. Butter, flour, egg, sugar.
- 1 BOWL. Easy recipe.
- FAST RECIPE. Chilling the cookie dough is not required.
- STICKS TO THE BAKING SHEET. Not the cookie press.
- FUN TO DECORATE. Use sprinkles, chocolate chips, melted chocolate, etc!
- FREEZER-FRIENDLY. They literally taste like new after thawed.
- SHIP WONDERFULLY. Hold their shape during the journey!
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– the bottom pressed against your baking sheet. Press the lever until it clicks and lift up the cookie press. Shaped cookie will be on your baking sheet! *If the cookie dough sticks to the cookie press, use your fingers 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 it pipe-able. 🙂
Grab your kids, friends, cousins, grandkids, siblings, etc and have fun decorating. Can I admit I prefer these over decorating sugar cookies with royal icing? Ha!!! Spritz cookies are much neater and using a cookie press is really fun!
What is Sally's Cookie Palooza?
Sally’s Cookie Palooza is a tradition since 2013. Every December we countdown to Christmas with 10 new cookie recipes in a row. Over the next two weeks, I’m publishing 10 brand new cookie recipes as well as giveaways, the December Baking Challenge, Christmas cookie video tutorials, and so much more. This is the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Sign up for instant updates and you’ll receive a free email alert whenever I publish a new recipe. 🙂
Click to see Sally’s Cookie Palooza over the years!
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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; 240g) 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 (270g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- optional: sprinkles, chocolate chips, and melted chocolate for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- 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 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.
- 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 to 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 it pipe-able.
Don’t miss my updated coconut macaroons!
Mine spread any idea how I can get them not to?
Hi Sarah! Chill the shaped cookies in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes first. That will definitely help! The cookie dough may have gotten too warm while using the cookie press.
Make sure that each cookie sheet is in the refrigerator up until the minute you are ready to press. Keep the press cold until you add the dough. Keep waiting dough also in the refrigerator. May take a few minutes to warm up when it is it’s turn to become a cookie !
Grrrrr…first and last time using my brand new cookie press. The dopey things spread and now the crummy disc I used is stuck in the press. I give up!
Hi Sally! I made these last year, they tasted delicious and the family loved them and has asked me to make them again. However, I had a lot of trouble with the dough sticking to the press. coming out misshapen, and some shapes I could not make at all. I remember having to cut the Xmas tree shape off the press and reshape with my fingers. How can I prevent this? I’ve read elsewhere that it’s best to press them directly onto the cookie sheet (I have Nordic Ware aluminum) without parchment paper or silpat. But I am afraid of ruining the cookie sheet. This Nordic Ware cookie sheet scratches very easily.
★★★★★
Hi Ro, I’m not sure which cookie press you are using but I usually don’t have any problems with the OXO press that I link to above. And yes, many readers have commented that they have the best luck pressing the dough directly onto the cookie sheet. You can certainly try it, it shouldn’t scratch your cooke sheets!
I made these last night and they were perfect! So many recipes do not call for enough almond flavoring and have too much flour. I used a Wilton Spritz Cookie press and the dough worked perfectly. Will definitely keep this recipe. I did use the Land-o-Lakes Extra Creamy Butter – the flavor of these were delicious. Even my hubby who doesn’t typically like these cookies ate them and commented on how great they were. As a twist I dipped some of them in melted Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate dipping wafers. I used the candy tool that looks sort of like a fork and dipped the bottoms. Happy Baking!!
★★★★★
I did refrigerate mine for 15 min and they spread like crazy!!! I bake cookies for a living so I have no idea what happened… the raw dough is the best ever too but I have to throw all the first batch out . Should I freeze it from 10 min instead of refrigerate
Hi Carrie. Freezing will help, yes. Make sure your butter is cool at room temperature— that’s the usual culprit behind cookies over-spreading.
320 degrees convection for 8:30-9:00 minutes worked best for me.
I have made several batches over the last week and each one has come out perfectly. I bought an OXO cookie press and I love it. I just finished a batch and I’m going to make another one to take to work tomorrow.
★★★★★
Hi Sally,
I made this recipe tonight and while the flavor was great my cookies were not taking shape. I realized that you have written 1 cup is equal to 240 grams of butter. I live overseas and went by this conversion but later realized that 1 cup is actually about 226 grams. There was a tad too much butter in my cookies which I’m Thinking is probably the reason they didn’t dispense from the cookie press easily and spread out while baking. Will try again!
Do you add the sprinkles before or after baking? It looks like there is a light glaze on the Christmas tree cookies. Thanks!
Hi Anna, add the sprinkles before baking. There is no glaze on these cookies but you could certainly add some if desired.
I have a question about the measurement of vanilla. I noticed this recipe is almost identical to the butter cookie. The butter cookie has 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla but this recipe has 1 tsp of vanilla. I really like vanilla is it okay to do 1 1/2 tsp and then add the almond as well?
★★★★★
You can definitely add more vanilla as I do with the butter cookies, yes!
I used the Pampered Chef press and the cookie dough wouldn’t come off the press, just stuck to the press after being pushed thru. We gave up and used the dough to make cookie cutter cookies. The cookies taste good but disappointed the dough didn’t work in the cookie press.
I have purchased and given away about 6 different brands of Cookie Presses. The newer ones now have an extension so the handle isn’t so rough on the palm of your hand. Must always use cold cookie sheet. .. and never parchment. I have discovered it works best…for me…if I do not fill the press to the top, but only about half way. I do not have the strength needed to push from the very top. Still can be frustrating…wish we could get ALL the tips in one paragraph.
I just want to thank you! This is our first Christmas/God Jul without our mom and my first time to make spritz. I used your recipe and the OXO cookie press. I read all the reviews so was holding my breath. The recipe made 5 cookie sheets (I might have spaced them out more than I needed to) and the cookies have 5 different designs. They came out great – no problems at all! You just made a hard Christmas much happier!
★★★★★
Hi, Donna – I’m SO glad you loved this recipe and that it brought back many sweet memories. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
Recipe didn’t work me. First batch spread. Refrigerated the second for 15 min…still spread. Third batch refrigerated for 30 minutes and dough stuck to press.
★
Love this recipe! My
Fave!
★★★★★
Hi Sally! I LOVE your recipes. Can the dough be rolled out to use with holiday cookie cutter shapes that aren’t available in a cookie press. Thank you!
Hi Sarah! No, I don’t recommend it. Instead, use my sugar cookies recipe.
This recipe came out great. I used my Oxo cookie press. I didn’t have a problem with the cookies spreading. I chilled the dough in between batches.
★★★★★
This is my 2nd time making these and I love this recipe! I love the kick the almond adds. Here are some tips:
1. the Oxo cookie press is better then then Wilton cookie press (I have both).
2. Put the cookies right on the sheet, no parchment paper. Otherwise they won’t come off the cookie press.
3. To get the cookies off the cookie press, I found it’s best to do a click and a half with the press. That extra little click pushes the cookie out so it sticks to the pan not the press.
4. I haven’t had the spreading problem, but I suspect it might have to do with not using room temp butter. I always make sure to use room temp butter because I feel like it adds to the flavor. And it may stop the spreading.
★★★★★
My mother and grandmother made spritz cookies all the time. Instead of a cookie press, they would put a bit of flour on the bottom of a heavy glass with a beveled base. Then we would stamp the glass down and create a beautiful pattern like a geometric snow flake. Dipping the cup in flour then stamping was one of our favorite jobs as kids when we made these cookies.
Thank you for your positive feedback, Nancy. I’m so happy you enjoy these cookies!