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 (16 Tbsp; 226g) 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 1/3 cups (291g) all-purpose flour (spooned & 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 silicone baking mats, or use nonstick baking sheets with no liner. (Do not use parchment paper because the cookie dough, when pressed out of the cookie press, will not adhere to it.) While the oven is preheating, and if your refrigerator or freezer has room, it’s helpful to chill your lined baking sheets. It sounds odd, but dough coming out of the cookie press adheres much better to a cold surface.
- 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 cold 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 5. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months; thaw before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | OXO Cookie Press | Cooling Rack | Gel Food Coloring (if desired for tinting the cookie dough) | Sprinkles (such as Red Sanding Sugar, Green Sanding Sugar, Sapphire Sanding Sugar, or 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.