These Spritz Cookies are buttery, tender and such festive Christmas cookies! The cookie dough is super easy to put together and there’s so many ways to decorate them.
I’m going to be honest with you. Spritz cookies never used to appeal to me. Whenever I had them they were store-bought versions that lacked the flavor and texture I expect in a great cookie. But as with most things, when you go homemade you see how things should really taste. Total game changer.
Now I Love Spritz Cookies. Especially These Ones!
Now that I’m making spritz cookies myself, I can’t get enough! They are so dang good. As long as you don’t over bake them, they are super soft and tender and stay that way for at least a week. They have a lovely buttery flavor accentuated with a touch of almond extract. I would describe them as a cross between a cutout sugar cookie and shortbread. Each cookie just melts right in your mouth. Whenever I make these, I literally cannot stop eating them.
And bonus – these are SUPER easy to make! The cookie dough comes together quickly and doesn’t need to be refrigerated. The cookies don’t really spread while baking and they are small, so you can make a bunch at a time. Perfect for holiday party prep.
How to Make These Cookies
Here’s a quick overview of how to make this recipe along with my notes. Scroll down to the recipe card for printable ingredients and instructions.
Make and Color Your Cookie Dough
- Make the cookie dough. You’ll cream the butter and sugar together, then add the egg and the extracts (I use a little vanilla and almond). Finally, add the flour and salt and mix just until combined.
- Color your cookie dough. If you want to use a few colors, divide your dough into parts and color it. I recommend gel icing color, not food coloring. Gel icing color allows you to add a small amount to achieve bright color. With food coloring you have to add a lot and it thins out your cookie dough, which will cause your cookies to spread too much.
Shape the Cookies & Bake
- Add the dough to your cookie press. Now you add your cookie dough to the cookie press and shape your cookies! I’m a big fan of this cookie press, but feel free to use whichever you have.
- Decorate! I used a variety of sprinkles. The options are endless when it comes to sprinkles. But you could also decorate them with chocolate chips or add a chocolate drizzle after baking them.
- Now it’s time to bake the cookies. I wanted to be sure that my cookies were super soft and tender, so I baked them just until they were done – about 5 minutes. Definitely don’t over bake them and dry them out.
The final cookies are purely amazing! Soft, tender and buttery! It’s hard not to eat one right after the other until they’re all gone! These will definitely be a hit for you this Christmas!
How to Use a Cookie Press
You’ll add the plate of the shape you want to make to the bottom of the press and then add your cookie dough into the top. Hold the press upright with the bottom directly on the cookie sheet. Press the lever to release a cookie, then lift up the press and you have your cookie!
If the cookie dough sticks to the press, you can use your finger to gently release the cookie. If it holds it’s shape, great. If not, add it back to your press and keep going. It is important to not try to press the cookies out onto something that’s really non-stick, like parchment paper, or you will have trouble.
Why Are They Called Spritz Cookies?
Now before we go into how to make these awesome cookies, lets talk about what they are exactly. The word “spritz” comes from the German word “spritzen”, which means “to squirt”. They are basically named for the way they are made – by squirting/pressing the cookie dough through a cookie press.
How to Store
To store homemade spritz cookies, place them in an airtight container to keep them fresh and prevent them from drying out. Layer the cookies with parchment or wax paper to avoid sticking, especially if they’re decorated with icing or sprinkles. Store them at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. For longer storage, freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months, thawing them at room temperature before serving.
More Christmas Cookies
Buttery Spritz Cookies Recipe
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 65–70 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Spritz Cookies are buttery, tender and such festive Christmas cookies! The cookie dough is super easy to put together and there’s so many ways to decorate them.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (155) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups (293g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Red gel icing color, optional
- Green gel icing color, optional
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats. I don’t recommend parchment paper with these cookies. You want the cookie dough to stick to the surface you press them onto and parchment paper is non-stick. Set cookie sheets aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. You should be able to see the mixture lighten in color and get a creamy texture and know it’s ready.
- Add the egg and mix until well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and almond extract and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is combined, then remove the bowl from the mixer and finish combining with a rubber spatula, if needed. Do not over mix.
- If coloring some of the cookie dough, divide it into parts. I used white, red and green, so I divided it evenly into three parts.
- Use the gel icing color to color the dough. Add small amounts to begin with, then add more as needed. You can always add additional color, but can’t remove it if you add too much. Adding too much liquid will thin out your cookie dough a bit.
- Add one of the colors of cookie dough to your cookie press (I use this one) and follow the directions for your press to set it up. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to your cookie sheet and press out the cookies. They can be fairly close together, since they don’t really spread.
- Decorate the cookies with sprinkles, if desired.
- Bake cookies for 5-8 minutes. I prefer them nice and soft, so I went with 5 minutes, but feel free to increase that time and adjust based on your oven.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an air tight container for up to about 1 week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 48
- Sugar: 2.2 g
- Sodium: 18.1 mg
- Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.2 g
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 9.6 mg
Tears in my eyes! For years I’ve wanted to make spritz cookies that I remember from my grandmother during childhood holidays. I never found her recipe but I think it’s yours…many thanks for this great memory rekindled!!
Wonderful! So glad you’re happy with them!
Okay, so I didn’t have any almond extract in the cupboard. I decided to substitute with a couple teaspoons of amaretto. I otherwise followed the recipe and the cookies were great. One thing that distinguishes this recipe to me is that it has just the right amount of salt. Other spritz recipes short the salt and lack some flavor. Can’t wait to share these cookies.
Can you use salted butter, and just reduce the amount of added salt?
Yes
This recipe is awesome, instructions excellent and most importantly the cookies turned out great! I used a manual cookie press and it worked perfectly. I can see this recipe becoming a tradition at every Christmas! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed them!
I’ve made these twice so far this month. The cookies are so delicious! Mine came out just perfect.
Can I add jello to this recipe.
For what purpose? Any change like that is going to change the outcome of the cookies.
I don’t have the silicone baking mats. Now what?
Sometimes reading through previous comments can be helpful. Someone commented the other day that it really helped them when they froze their baking sheet prior to using the cookie press on it. It might be worth a try.
I had to add a LOT more flour to make these cookies come out of my press looking right. I thought it might have been the food color but even the white dough needed extra flour. You probably need to add an extra cup to the whole batch. Other than that they tasted great!
My first attempt at spritz cookies. I definitely got better at the cookie press as I went, lol, the first sheet was pretty tragic but the third sheet looked great 🙂. Maybe it’s just my oven, but I had to bake these for a full 10 minutes. I checked them at 5 as suggested and they were still very raw.
There is definitely variation between ovens. I’m glad you enjoyed them!
They didn’t hold their shape 🙁
Maybe butter was too cold? I’ll try again another day.
I tried this recipe on two different days. Both days I was extremely careful to follow the recipe exactly. However, on the first day, I split the dough in two sections and colored one green, the other red. The dough was beautiful, but the cookies came out of the press unrecognizable. I was so discouraged. Then, I watched all the You Tube videos I could find on using a “lever” cookie press and tried again today. I did not use the gel colors. I left everything white. Lo and behold, they came out of the cookie press beautifully!! I learned that it wasn’t the dough. It was the way I was using the cookie press. My success was attributed to freezing the trays for 15 minutes in my freezer, putting the press straight down on the sheet (once cold), using my other hand to steady/hold the bottom (my hand was not touching the cookie sheet or the dough. It was just wrapped around the lowest section. When I pressed, I immediately lifted the press straight up. The cookie shapes came out perfectly (Christmas trees, snowflakes, wreaths and a kind of flower shape). I used different colored sprinkles on the cookies before baking since they were plain colored. I baked them for 8 minutes and am so pleased with the end results. Once cooled, my husband and I sampled them: so tender and delicate tasting. Delicious. What a great recipe. I will be making these in years to come. Thank you Lindsay for the fantastic recipe!! I am glad that I didn’t give up on being able to make Spritz cookies.
I’ve been making spritz cookies for years, they are my favorite. I moved and lost my recipe so i used this one. Sorry, but i was very disappointed. First of all, my cookies spread to much, maybe i over mixed? I tried cooking the dough, but it didn’t help. Then i took your advice on the 5 minutes cook time, they were way too soft for our taste. I cooked them for at least 10 minutes which gave them some crispness which my family likes.
Going to try the peanut butter blossoms next, I’m not giving up!! Lol!!
Typo above, i tried COOLING the dough in the fridge.
The spreading of cookie dough comes down to a balance of wet ingredients (like butter) and dry ingredients (like flour). If your cookies over spread, then you either over measured the wet ingredients or under measured the dry ingredients. That is why I use a food scale to measure, especially the flour. Small differences can make a big impact. This is true with cookies more so than a lot of other desserts.
I used this recipe last year and will again this year. It was a hit. One suggestion though, do not use parchment paper. The cookies stick too much when you lift the press. The silicone mat is the best.
Omg idk what’s up with the recipe but my cookies are flat and look gross!!! I just waisted baking ingredients!! Now I gotta start over! Take this recipe down!!! I DO NOT RECOMMEND!!! I followed your directions to the letter!!!
This tastes just like the ones from my childhood. They were also so easy and fast to make. I made three batches and they only lasted one day!!! They’re perfectly delicate and delicious. To get them to stick, I put my baking sheet in the freezer for just a few minutes. After baking, I’d run warm water over the baking sheet and then put it in the freezer until it felt cold to the touch (I only have one baking sheet). This worked perfectly and there was no warping of my sheet. I cooked for 6 minutes and they were soft and buttery. I wish I could post a picture as they came out just like the photos in the blog, and I am not a baker!!! I am so pleased- so is my family.
Wonderful! So glad they turned out well!
I set my cookie sheets on ice packs between uses so the dough will stick to them.