Delicate spritz cookies are buttery, tender, and such festive Christmas cookies! The cookie dough is super easy to make, and there are so many ways to decorate them. This spritz cookie recipe makes a BIG batch of cookies, perfect for holiday baking.
Ever since I started making spritz cookies myself, I can’t get enough! They are so dang good. I would describe them as a cross between a cutout sugar cookie and shortbread cookies made with a cookie press. They have a lovely sweet flavor accentuated with a touch of almond extract.
As long as you don’t overbake them, these crisp butter cookies stay super soft and tender for at least a week. Each cookie melts right in your mouth. Whenever I make these, I literally cannot stop eating them.
I’ll admit, in the past, spritz cookies never really appealed 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!
The word “spritz” comes from the German word “spritzen”, meaning to squirt. Traditional German spritz cookies are named for the way they are made: By squirting/pressing the cookie dough through a cookie press. Here’s why these homemade Christmas spritz cookies are always the best:
- The final cookies are purely amazing. Soft, tender, and buttery. There’s no hint of artificial flavoring here. It’s hard not to eat one right after the other until they’re all gone.
- These are SUPER easy to make. The cookie dough comes together quickly, and there’s no chilling required.
- Perfect for batch baking. These spritz cookies don’t spread much while baking, and they’re small. You can bake a bunch at one time, so they’re a great make-ahead treat for holiday parties and Christmas cookie exchanges.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Head to the pantry to gather the ingredients you’ll need to make these easy butter cookies. Scroll to the recipe card for the full recipe measurements.
- Butter – Bring your butter to room temperature.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar or light brown sugar is best here.
- Egg – This can also be at room temperature.
- Flavoring extracts – I like to use a mix of vanilla and almond extract. You can omit the almond extract or replace it with extra vanilla if preferred.
- Flour – Measured using a kitchen scale or by spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling it with the back of a knife. Avoid scooping directly from the bag. You’ll end up with too much flour and dry cookies.
- Gel food coloring – Gel icing colors yield the brightest, most vibrant-colored cookies without watering down the dough. You can use red, green, or any colors you’d like.
- Sprinkles – Optional, for a festive finish!
How to Make Spritz Cookies
Here’s a quick overview of how to make this classic Christmas cookie recipe from scratch.
Start by preheating the oven to 350ºF while you line your baking sheets with silicone mats (or leave them unlined). I don’t recommend using parchment paper, as the cookie dough won’t stick when you press it.
Cream the butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes, until lighter in color.
Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
Add the flour and salt to form the dough. Do not overmix.
Coloring the 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. You only need a small amount of gel icing color to achieve bright colors. 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.
Divide the cookie dough.
Add a little gel icing color at a time to color the cookie dough.
Press the Cookies & Bake
Now, 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. Be sure to follow the setup directions according to your press.
Hold the cookie press perpendicular to the baking sheet. Press out the cookies.
Decorate with sprinkles.
Bake at 350ºF for 5-8 minutes, then cool on the pan for 4-5 minutes.
How to Use a Cookie Press
- Set up the press. In most cases, you’ll add the plate of the shape you want to make to the bottom of the press. 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 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 its shape, great. If not, add it back to your press and keep going. It is important not to try to press the cookies out onto something that’s really non-stick, like parchment paper. See my tips and troubleshooting notes below.
Why Are My Cookies Not Sticking?
- Surface material matters. Be sure you aren’t using parchment paper, which is naturally non-stick. A silicone baking mat is best, but you can also pipe the dough directly onto the cookie sheet.
- Make sure it’s oil-free. Wash your mat or cookie sheet with warm, soapy water before using it. If any residual oils or anything are present, it could prevent the cookies from sticking.
- Too much coloring. If you’ve thinned out your cookie dough to the point where it won’t stick, you could try adding a touch of flour to it, a teaspoon at a time. You could also put the cookie sheet and/or baking mat into the freezer for about 5 minutes, then quickly use the press to make the cookies. The frozen mat should be sticky while cold and help the cookie dough stick.
Tips for Perfect Spritz Cookies
- Avoid dry cookies. It’s important to measure your flour correctly, particularly in these cookies. Too much flour will give you dry cookies that won’t stick when you press them. I highly recommend a food scale or the spoon-and-level method.
- No nuts, no problem. If you can’t use almond extract, that’s fine. Just replace it with additional vanilla extract.
- Color correctly/avoid spreading. Do not use water-based food coloring to color these cookies. It won’t make a vibrant color without adding quite a bit of color, which will thin out your cookie dough, causing the cookies to not stick to your baking mat and to spread too much. Go with gel icing colors and add only as much as needed. Even with the gels, too much can make it hard for the dough to stick when using the press.
- Dough that sticks. If your cookies aren’t sticking when you press them, first try washing your mat or pan very well to be sure there’s no grease or anything, then try again. If that doesn’t work, even after trying several times, pop the cookie sheet and/or baking mat into the freezer for about 5 minutes, then quickly use the press to make the cookies.
- Add sprinkles quickly. If the cookie dough sits for a while before you add the sprinkles on top, the dough won’t be as sticky, and the sprinkles may not stick well. I recommend adding the sprinkles just after pressing out the cookies.
- Don’t overbake. These cookies are pretty small, so they really don’t need long to bake. Take them out of the oven just after they no longer look glossy, and they should be perfect.
Storage and Freezing
- 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.
- Freeze. 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 Baking Recipes
Buttery Spritz Cookies Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ¾ cup (155g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ¼ cups (293g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon 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.
Video
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
I’m concerned about using 293g of flour. The correct weight of 1 cup of flour is 120g so that should be 270g. Am I missing something? I even tried using a 1 c measure by lightly using a scoop to put the flour in the cup and it was 275g. I use a scale for all my baking now to get a perfect baked good. I am so anxious to use this recipe but I don’t want them to be dry. Thank you
Different sources give different amounts. What I can tell you is that I use my recipe as written with the grams measurements, so they are accurate.
I actually have the original paper with instructions from a Super Shooter purchased in 1976 and made cookies today with a friend. She had never heard of cookies made with a cookie press. I have a newer press as well, but the original performs much better. I used the original recipe and baked on insulated aluminum cookie pans. They came out great and my friend had a fun time learning to use the press. She took home a holiday tin full of cookies decorated with different colors of sugar. While I had everything out, I made another batch of dough and will use it tomorrow to make some cookies for my house! Oh, they tasted great!
I don’t have silicone mats. Will it work to bake directly on the baking sheet?
You can certainly try it. I’m guessing they’d press fine. Question is if they stick to the cookie sheet after baking or over-brown on the bottom. If you try it, I’d try a light colored baking sheet.
I really enjoy this recipe and personally add 1 tsp. Cream of Tartar.
Do you have any recommendations for converting the recipe for high altitude baking?
I’m glad you enjoy them! I’m not really familiar with high altitude baking. Maybe this guide would be helpful.
Great flavor and softness
So glad to hear that!
What does cream of tartar do for the cookies!
what does creme of tartar do to this recipe
Thank you for your note regarding parchment paper. I have always used it for cookies and had given up on spritz. Another tip I found elsewhere was – if using an old style cookie press – to rotate it to the desired amount then back it off 1/4 turn. I am hoping that these two tips will resolve my issues and enable me to resume baking spritz cookies this year.
I hope they work out well!
Hi there, I’m wanting to try these this year for Christmas, is there really not baking soda or baking powder in this particular recipe? Just making sure as I’m writing it out by hand cuz I’m out of printer ink and I thought I forgot to write it. Thank you.
Yes, that’s correct.
I have a problem. After triggering the dough through the shape, ithe cookie will not release.
I have some tips in the blog post and in the video. But I find that a silicone baking mat works best, because even though it’s non-sitck in nature, the dough will stick to it just enough to release. Parchment paper, while I love it, is a little too non-stick.
Are there any changes for high altitude?
I’m not really familiar with high altitude baking, but maybe this guide will be helpful.
I love this cookie!!! Our first batch is quickly becoming a practice run because we keep eating them all up! My batter was really thick… any ideas? Did I mix too long with mixer? They still taste and look fabulous!
I’m glad you’re enjoying them! As far as thick batter, it’s hard for me to say without seeing what it’s like, but if the cookies are turning out nice, I’m wondering it it’s correct, but just seems thick? What makes you think there’s something wrong? Are they not baking properly somehow?
Can these be frozen?
Yes, just keep in mind that if you use sprinkles, the color could bleed.
About one in three cookies are usable and most of those are misshapen. I need help with the BLOB problem!! It says no need to chill first, but could that be a solution?
Does BLOB stand for something? Are you having trouble with them sticking and staying when you press them? I mention in the blog post that I highly recommend using a silicon baking mat, because that was the best thing for having the cookies stay in place when pressing them, and it’s non stick. Parchment paper doesn’t work as well because the cookie dough doesn’t really stick to it.
I’m allergic to all nuts, so I have to use the almond extract?
You can use another extract that works for your allergies. Maybe vanilla extract?
Can I replace the almond extract? My son is allergic to tree nuts.
Definitely!
My son is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. I can use McCormick or Watkins imitation almond extract, it’s made with apricot pits. Just make sure it isn’t pure almond extract. Before I knew this I would use 2tsp of vanilla extract.
Would I be able to substitute the flour for 1:1 GF flour?
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine that would be fine.
Why do mine always spread out and never retain the shaape?
It’s a balance of the wet and dry ingredients. If they are spreading too much, you might be under measuring your flour or over measuring something like your butter or sugar.
can i add almond paste and if so how much?
Probably, I’ve just never used it myself to be able to say how much.