The Best Spritz Recipe: A Delightful Holiday Cookie to Share
Updated: Feb 2
Cookies are a beloved holiday tradition. The smell of freshly-baked cookies brings back fond memories of family gatherings and happy times spent with loved ones.
Whether it's classic gingerbread men, buttery shortbreads, or chocolate chip morsels, each type of cookie has its own unique flavor and texture that evokes a sense of warmth and comfort during the holidays.
Jump to Tools - Jump to Recipe - Jump to Healthier Recipe
One of my favorite holiday cookie traditions is a central European butter cookie called a spritz. This cookie recipe captures all the nostalgia of traditional holiday baking, with a few industrious touches for an extra-special treat.
Spritz cookies get their unique look and shape with the use of a cookie press. I love a cookie press because it decorates and portions each cookie in a single step. This is great for bakers that struggle with decorating but still want a beautiful cookie.
I hope you enjoy these cookies and making them as much as I have. Keep reading for a few tips to help make the process as simple as possible. Who knows maybe this will be the beginning of a new tradition for you and yours. Happy holidays. Enjoy!
Tools for making Spritz cookies
Unlike many other holiday cookies, the Spritz requires a few special tools. Mainly, a quality cookie press like this one by Wilton.
So far my Wilton cookie press has held up to dozens of batches of spritz cookies over several years. The press is easy to use, easy to clean and comes with a variety of fun shapes for different occasions.
When you're getting ready to bake make sure you have these items on hand:
Cookie Press
Mixing Bowls
Electric Mixer or Electric Hand Mixer
2-4 baking sheets
Oven mitts
Cooling Racks
Spritz Cookie Ingredient List
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups (3 Sticks) butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temp
2 tablespoons milk, room temp
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Optional: Sprinkles, Icing, frosting, food coloring
Pro Tip:
Room temp means room temp, don't rush it! Using cold ingredients straight from the fridge will inhibit the creaming process and lead to an unevenly mixed dough. It could make your dough unusable.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350, combine flour and baking powder in a medium mixing bowl. cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in extracts, egg, and milk until incorporated.
Add flour to the wet mixture until dough forms. Your ideal dough consistency should be firm but malleable and slightly tacky. The tacky consistency is what helps the cookies adhere to the baking sheet as they are pressed through.
If you wish to add food coloring to any of your cookies now is the time to divide the dough and work in the color.
Once you've decided on colors it is time to fill the cookie press. split the dough again and roll it into cylinders that will fit into your cookie press.
Select your cookie press shape and you're ready to go!
Give your cookie press a few pumps to get the dough started through the shape.
Grab your chilled cookie sheets from the refrigerator or freezer.
Fill your cookie sheet with cookies as close as your cookie press will allow them to fit. Another great thing about this recipe is that the cookies don't spread so you can really fit a lot on one baking sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes until edges start to golden. I prefer a crispier cookie and may or may not leave a sheet in for an extra minute or two.
Healthier Spritz Cookie Recipe
Can it still be called a butter cookie if you take out all the butter? Well, in this case, swapping the butter with an alternative like applesauce just makes a gooey mess. However, you can trim a few calories by using a sugar alternative like Truvia.
The trick to this recipe is having all your wet ingredients at room temperature before you start. Truvia doesn't quite cream with butter the same way traditional sugar does so it will need a little extra work at this stage.
Ensuring that your butter and sugar are well combined is the foundation of a successful cookie.
Aside from swapping the sugar and making sure the Truvia blends well you will follow the recipe exactly the same as when making it with real sugar. The full modified ingredient list is below.
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups (3 Sticks) butter, room temp
1/2 cup Truvia Cane Sugar Blend
1 egg, room temp
2 tablespoons milk, room temp
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Optional: Sprinkles, Icing, frosting, food coloring
Pro Tip:
Chill your cookie sheets. Something about a cool cookie sheet helps the dough stick when pushed through the cookie press. Don't worry the sheet will warm enough before it's time to go in the oven so no warping should occur.
Ways to Decorate Holiday Cookies
Royal Icing
line the ridges of your Christmas tree shapes in green or add colorful dabs as ornaments. Fill in white poinsettia-shaped flowers with bright red icing for an enticing pop of color on the cookie tray. These are just two ideas for Royal Icing but there are endless possibilities.
Frosting
Adding frosting on top of these delicate little morsels might be tricky, but you could always make little cookie sandwiches filled with your favorite icing.
Food Coloring
Bring your shapes to life with a pop of color. Mix in your desired color for a festive twist. No one will mistake your spritz for just any old butter cookie.
Sprinkles
Confetti, glitter, shapes, and more! Just make sure to add your sprinkles before baking so they have a chance to stick.
Dipped
Use dark chocolate or your favorite candy coating for a unique style. You might even explore adding a drizzle for an extra creative look.
Best way to Enjoy Spritz Cookies
A cookie is a great treat any time in my book but it's especially tasty when shared with friends and family. For me, I love lots of laughs while visiting over a hot mug of something delicious.
Coffee - a strong dark roast, cappuccino, or latte any coffee is great coffee, right?
Tea - earl grey, herbal there are so many great pairing possibilities.
Milk - what could be more classic?
hot cocoa - experiment with different flavors of hot cocoa like mint or french vanilla.
Feeling extra festive? Eggnog is also a great beverage served cold or warm.
Closing Thoughts
No matter what kind of holiday treats you’re baking this season, spritz cookies are a must. They’re easy to make and can be customized with icing, sprinkles, food coloring, and more. Plus, they go great with coffee, tea, milk, or hot cocoa. Enjoy these classic cookies with your family and friends and make some fond memories this holiday season. Happy baking!
Cheers,
Happy Holidays!
