Description
Classic Spritz Cookies are crisp, buttery treats pressed into charming shapes using a cookie press and baked to golden perfection. These delicate cookies boast a tender crumb and can be customized with various flavors, colors, and decorations for festive occasions or everyday enjoyment.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract or peppermint extract (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 cups flour
Optional Decorations
- Sprinkles or nonpareils
- Colored sanding sugar
- Melted chocolate, almond bark, or candy melts
- Food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) to ensure it’s at the right temperature when your cookies are ready to bake.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together on medium speed until the mixture is light, fluffy, and well combined, which usually takes about 3-5 minutes.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the egg, followed by the milk, vanilla extract, and almond or peppermint extract if using. Mix well to incorporate all flavors evenly into the batter.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt to evenly distribute the salt throughout the flour.
- Mix Dry into Wet: With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until the dough comes together and is smooth without overmixing.
- Press Cookies: Spoon some dough into a cookie press fitted with your chosen design plate. Hold the cookie press flat against an ungreased baking sheet, press the handle to release the dough, then lift straight up to leave the shaped cookie on the sheet. Cookies do not spread much, so place them close together for efficient use of space.
- Repeat: Refill the cookie press and continue pressing cookies onto the baking sheet until it is filled.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, or until the edges are set and the bottoms just begin to turn a light golden brown.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating or storing.
Notes
- If using food coloring, add 1-2 drops to the entire dough batch or divide the dough into smaller portions and add a drop to each to make multicolored cookies.
- For sprinkles or colored sanding sugar, add them just before baking to ensure they stick during baking.
- If dipping cookies in melted chocolate, almond bark, or candy melts, wait until the cookies have fully cooled before dipping. You can also add sprinkles or nonpareils on top before the coating sets.
- To maintain cookie shapes and for best results, bake only one sheet at a time. You can press cookies onto another sheet while one bakes. Cool cookie sheets completely before pressing dough on them again.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze for up to three months to maintain freshness.
- Measure flour properly by spooning into the measuring cup and leveling off to avoid dense cookies due to too much flour.
- Soften butter by leaving it at room temperature for about an hour or using the microwave in short bursts to avoid melting.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 90
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 40mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 9g
- Fiber: 0.2g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
