Christmas Spritz Cookies
Making a batch of these buttery and tender Christmas Spritz Cookies is one of my favorite old-fashioned holiday traditions. They’re super easy to make ahead and decorate using a classic cookie press, giving you the most festive and beautiful treats for the season!
These are the perfect cookies for the holiday season, especially when you decorate them with festive sprinkles. They look so happy and cheerful and are even more fun to make! If your Christmas traditions include baking cookies, then add this recipe to your list. You can make them in various designs. The cookie press makes it easy to create cookies in intricate shapes.
This spritz cookie recipe is so buttery, sweet, and delicious that it will quickly become one of your favorite holiday cookies. Just looking at them will make every smile, and want to grab them! You can bake them in fun shapes and decorate them in many ways. One bite and you’ll agree – they are the best Christmas cookies ever!
Why You’ll Love Christmas Spritz Cookies
- Amazing flavor. These buttery Spritz cookies melt in your mouth.
- Easy. You don’t need cookie cutters – just the press.
- Perfect for your cookie platter. These holiday spritz cookies are so festive.
- Mild flavor. They will quickly become one of your favorite cookies.
Ingredients
The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.
These delicious cookies are so much fun to make. You’ll use a cookie press instead of baking them on a cookie sheet, which is so much fun! Here’s what you’ll need before you start baking the cookies.
- Flour: Use your favorite kind of all-purpose flour.
- Salt: It enhances all the other flavors.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter to control how salty the cookies are.
- Granulated Sugar: It mixes with the other ingredients and gives it a sweet flavor.
- Egg: This is the emulsifier that holds all the ingredients together.
- Vanilla: This rounds out the nuttiness in the almond extract.
- Almond Extract: It gives the cookies the iconic nutty flavor it’s known for.
- Food Color and Sprinkles: These are optional and are used to decorate them.
- Icing: Use a simple glaze or your favorite frosting; it’s up to you.
How to Make Christmas Spritz Cookies
- Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step Two: Using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth.
- Step Three: Add the egg, almond, and vanilla extract.
- Step Four: Whisk flour and salt together in a separate mixing bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Step Five: Optional – If using food coloring to color the dough before baking, separate the dough equally into small bowls. Add a few drops of food coloring (colors of your choice) and stir into the dough until incorporated.
- Step Six: Next, place the dough into the cookie press with the desired disk in place; hold the cookie press perpendicular to the baking sheet (don’t line it with parchment paper; you want the cookie to stick to the pan a little), press the release trigger to push the dough through the disk. Leave about one inch of space between cookies (these cookies don’t spread very much). Add sprinkles to the cookies before baking if desired.
- Step Seven: Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack.
- Step Eight: Optional – If using icing and sprinkles to decorate after baking, you can do so once the cookies have cooled completely.
Equipment Needed
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What to Serve with Christmas Spritz Cookies
The best place for these cookies is on your cookie tray! But they are also perfect to serve with candy canes and your favorite treats at a holiday party.
Variations and Substitutions
- Peppermint extract – Make them taste like peppermint cookies.
- Swirled Cookies – Roll them up, slice them, and make mixed cookies.
- Lemon Extract – This is the best way to brighten the flavor.
- Sandwich Cookies – Add a thin layer of buttercream frosting between two cookies.
- Drizzle melted chocolate on top.
Storage Instructions
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container. Keep them at room temperature. They will stay fresh for up to a week.
Christmas Spritz Cookies Tips and Tricks
- Use a piping bag to decorate the cookies with icing.
- After adding the flour, be careful how vigorously you mix it. If you overwork the dough, they might be too tough after they bake.
- If you don’t like how the cookies look after you, press them, roll them back into a ball, and try again.
- You will know they are done baking when lightly golden around the edges.
- Use room temperature butter and egg to incorporate better into the dough.
What Are Spritz Cookies?
A spritz cookie tastes similar to sugar cookies. These cookies are pushed through a cookie press, with a disk attached to give them different shapes. The word spritz comes from the German word Spritzen, which means to squirt. The dough is squirted through the cookie press.
How To Use A Cookie Press
Cookie presses are so much fun to use! Here’s how to use them to press cookies into festive shapes and designs.
- Choose which disk to use and add it to the cookie press.
- Fill the cookie press with cookie dough.
- Press the lever until you see the dough coming out of the disk.
- Hold the cookie press flat against your baking tray. Press the lever to push out the first cookie.
- Keep pressing cookies until you fill up the baking sheet.
Can I Make Them Without A Cookie Press?
If you don’t use a cookie press, you won’t get the same designs or prints on the dough, but they will still taste delicious! Use a cookie cutter and ensure the cookies are rolled out so they are all the same thickness.
Why Won’t My Cookies Come Out Of The Cookie Press?
The cookies will be harder to release if the dough is too soft. You should also consider the temperature of the dough. If it’s too cold, squeezing out of the press will be difficult. Try to use just one hand; that way, you aren’t accidentally warming up the dough too much as you press the lever. If the dough is too warm, it will also be too soft. Put the dough in the fridge to let it chill, then take it back out and press the cookies again.
Can I Make Ahead?
Yes, you can make these easy Christmas cookies ahead of time. Store your cookies in an airtight container. They will stay fresh for up to a week.
What Can I Use To Decorate
These easy butter cookies are so much fun to decorate. Add some Christmas sprinkles on top. Or drizzle some icing on top. Another straightforward solution is to color the dough with gel food coloring. If you want to do that, split your dough into separate bowls and dye them different colors. Red and green food coloring are the most popular choices.
Can I Omit The Almond Extract?
There are different ways to flavor the cookies. Yes, you can leave the almond extract out. Try replacing it with peppermint or lemon extract for a fun new flavor.
Can I Freeze The Cookie Dough?
Yes, these cookies freeze well. You can freeze the dough before baking (allow it to thaw and warm up before using the cookie press; you want the dough to be firm but not frozen) or freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months.
What Is The Difference Between Shortbread and Spritz Cookies?
The ingredients are the most significant difference between classic spritz cookies and shortbread cookies. They have similar tastes and textures and even look alike! Spritz cookies are made with an egg. Shortbread cookies are not.
FAQ
No, do not add chocolate chips to the dough. This will alter the texture too much.
No, you need an ungreased baking sheet. You want to make sure the cookie dough sticks to the baking sheet a bit.
This recipe makes about 65 cookies.
Christmas Cookies
Want to make more classic Christmas cookies? Here are some of my favorites:
- Cream Cheese Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Ritz Cracker Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Sweetened Condensed Milk Cookies
- Christmas Pinwheel Cookies
- Sugar Cookie Christmas Tree
- Thumbprint Cookies
Try Cream Cheese Mints and Buddy the Elf Christmas Crack.
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Christmas Spritz Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- food coloring and sprinkles optional
- icing storebought or homemade, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add the egg, almond extract and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- If using food coloring to color the dough before baking, separate the dough equally into small bowls. Add a few drops of food coloring of your choice and the mix the dough until the color is incorporated.
- Place the dough into a cookie press with your desired disk in place. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to the baking sheet. Do not line the cookie sheet with parchment paper as you want the cookie to stick to the pan a little.
- Press the release trigger to push the dough through the disk. Leave about 1 inch space between the cookies. Add sprinkles if desired.
- Bake for 7 to 9 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then move to a cooling rack.
- If using icing and sprinkles to decorate after baking, you can do so once they have cooled completely.
Equipment
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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HEYYYY STACIE, GOT YOUR MESSAGE, BEEN REALLY BUSY BUT I MADE THE SPRITZ COOKIES, HARD TO GUARD THOSE THINGS FROM THE BOYS WHO LOVED THEM AS WELL. LOL. WENT THRU THE FIRST BATCH HAD TO MAKE TWO MORE. THE BOYS WERE MORE THAN WILLING TO HELP ME. GOT IT DONE AND ALL THREE OF US FEASTED ON THE COOKIES. THE COOKIES ARE EASY TO MAKE, HAD A FEW PROBLEMS WITH MY COOKIE DISPENSER, I THINK I GOT IT DOWN NOW. THE BOYS WANTED CHRISTMAS TREES AND MAKE THE COLOR GREEN. LOVED PUTTING ON THE SPRINKLES. LOOKS LIKE I MAY HAVE TO MAKE ANOTHER BATCH. THE COOKIES WERE A SUCCESS. THANKS STACIE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ME AND THE BOYS.
No recipe for homemade Frosting?
I would think it would be different then cake frosting.
It is a little different. This is a good recipe: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/easy-glaze-icing/ Any cookie icing recipe you have should be fine. Cake frosting can be used in a pinch, too.