Spritz Cookies (Buttery, Crisp Pressed Shapes)

One bowl of dough, a cookie press and a few minutes in the oven: spritz cookies are the fastest way to fill a holiday tin. The dough is little more than butter, sugar, egg and flour, pressed straight onto a cold baking sheet in rosettes, wreaths or trees.

What makes them work is not the recipe but the details around it. The dough has to be soft enough to push through the press and firm enough to hold the pattern, and the sheet has to be bare so the cookie grips it. Get those two right and the shapes come out crisp and buttery every time.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened – the flavor of the cookie; it should be soft enough to dent easily, not melting.
• ½ cup granulated sugar – sweet enough without making the dough sticky.
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract – the classic spritz flavor; leave it out for a plain butter cookie.
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour – spoon it into the cup and level it, so the dough does not get stiff.
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Food coloring, colored sugar or sprinkles – optional, for decorating.

How to Make Them

1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C)

Set out two or three ungreased metal baking sheets. Do not line them with parchment or a silicone mat. The sheets should be cool and completely bare.

2. Cream the butter and sugar – 2 minutes

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg, vanilla and almond extract. The mixture should look pale and creamy, with no grains of sugar visible on the side of the bowl.

3. Add the flour

Mix in the salt, then add the flour in two or three additions on low speed. Tint the dough now if you like. The dough should be soft and smooth, like play dough, not crumbly.

4. Press the cookies

Fill the press and push out shapes about 1 ½ inches apart. Hold the press upright and flat against the sheet, click once, then lift straight up. Decorate with sugar or sprinkles before baking. Each cookie should stick to the sheet and stay behind when you lift the press.

5. Bake – 7 to 9 minutes at 375°F

Bake one sheet at a time, until the cookies are set and just starting to color at the bottom edges. The tops should stay pale; only a thin golden line should show at the base.

6. Cool

Move the cookies to a rack right away. Let the baking sheet cool completely before pressing the next batch. The cookies should feel firm and snap cleanly once cool.

Why the Sheet Has to Be Bare

A cookie press works by pushing a small amount of dough against the baking sheet. When you lift the press, the dough has to grip the sheet harder than it grips the press. On parchment, a silicone mat or a greased pan, it slides, and the shape lifts away with the press.

The same is true of a warm sheet: the butter in the dough softens on contact and the cookie smears instead of sticking. That is why it helps to rotate two or three sheets, so one is always cool.

Flavor and Decoration Ideas

One batch of dough can make several kinds of cookies. Divide it before tinting or flavoring.

For a softer cookie on the same tray, pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting or apple pie cheesecake cookies make a good contrast with the crisp spritz.

Troubleshooting the Press

• Dough will not stick to the sheet: the sheet is greased, lined or warm. Use a bare, cool metal sheet.
• Dough is too stiff to push through: it is too cold or has too much flour. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes, or knead a piece briefly in your hands.
• Shapes are blurry or spread in the oven: the dough is too soft. Chill it for 10 to 15 minutes and try again.
• Uneven sizes: keep the press flat and upright, and use a single click per cookie.
• Butter too soft: if the kitchen is warm, the dough gets greasy. The same rule applies to salted honey cinnamon cookies: butter soft enough to dent, never melting.

Choosing and Loading a Cookie Press

Most cookie presses work the same way: a barrel holds the dough, a disc at the end gives the shape, and a trigger or crank pushes out the same amount of dough with each click. A metal barrel holds up better to stiff butter dough than a thin plastic one, and a trigger that clicks firmly makes it easier to keep every cookie the same size.

Load the barrel with dough shaped into a log a little narrower than the barrel, so there are no air pockets. Air in the barrel is the main reason for a click that produces nothing, followed by a cookie twice the size on the next click.

Start with the simplest discs, such as the flower or the star. They release easily and forgive dough that is a little too soft or too firm. Discs with thin details, like snowflakes or wreaths with narrow rings, need dough that is exactly right, so press a few test cookies before filling a whole sheet.

When you change discs, empty the barrel completely first. Scraping a half-used barrel tends to trap air in the dough that follows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make spritz cookies without a cookie press?

Yes. Pipe the dough with a large star tip into rosettes or swirls. The dough is stiff, so a sturdy piping bag helps.

What else can I add to a holiday cookie tin?

Something chewy and something fruity: cranberry bliss bars and cranberry pistachio bark both keep well for several days.

Should I chill spritz dough?

Not usually. Spritz dough is pressed at room temperature. Chill it only if it is too soft to hold its shape, and let cold dough warm up before pressing.

Why are my spritz cookies hard?

Most often, too much flour or overbaking. Spoon and level the flour, and take the cookies out as soon as the bottom edges show a hint of color.

How do I store spritz cookies?

In an airtight tin at room temperature, with parchment between layers if they are decorated. They also freeze well once baked and cooled: Michigan State University Extension recommends cooling them completely and packing them airtight, with waxed paper between layers.

Can I use salted butter?

Yes. Leave out the ¼ teaspoon of salt in the recipe so the cookies do not taste too salty.

Why is my spritz dough crumbly?

Usually there is too much flour, or the butter was too cold to cream properly. Knead a piece of dough in your hands for a few seconds; if it still cracks, work in a teaspoon of milk.

Spritz Cookies

Classic buttery pressed cookies made with a cookie press on a bare, cool baking sheet, with almond and vanilla.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings: 60 cookies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 50

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract optional
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
• 1/4 tsp salt
• food coloring, colored sugar or sprinkles optional

Method

 

1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Set out ungreased, unlined metal baking sheets.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg, vanilla and almond extract.
3. Mix in the salt, then the flour in two or three additions on low speed. Tint the dough if you like.
4. Fill the cookie press and press shapes 1 1/2 inches apart onto the cool sheet. Decorate with sugar or sprinkles.
5. Bake one sheet at a time for 7 to 9 minutes, until set and barely golden at the bottom edges.
6. Move the cookies to a rack right away. Let the baking sheet cool before pressing the next batch.

Notes

Storage: airtight tin at room temperature; baked cookies freeze well once completely cool.

Make ahead: the dough can be wrapped and refrigerated; let it soften before pressing.

Substitutions: skip the almond extract and use 1 tsp vanilla; add 1 tsp citrus zest.

No cookie press: pipe the dough with a large star tip in a sturdy piping bag.

Nutrition: calories are an estimate calculated from standard ingredient values, not a laboratory analysis.