Spritz Cookies, the familiar way
This Familiar Spritz Cookies recipe gives you fun, holiday-shaped, buttery-soft cookies that melt in your mouth and are a fun addition to any holiday cookie tin!
These Buttery Spritz Cookies are…
- straightforward to mix
- a no-chill cookie recipe
- soft and chewy
- perfect buttery taste
- a great addition to any cookie tin or cookie swap
- fun to add sanding sugars, nonpareils, red and green food coloring
It's been forever since I've made these cookies, and I had forgotten just how flavorful and borderline addictive they can be. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Recommended Baking Tools
You'll need the basics for this familiar spritz cookie recipe, like a stand mixer or hand mixer, spatula, and cookie sheets. You'll also need the following:
- Cookie Press and Discs. My cookie press is by OXO and comes with a set of discs with different shapes. They also sell another set of holiday-themed discs.
- Mixing Bowls. I used a few mixing bowls to color some of the spritz cookie dough green and red.
- Food Coloring. I've been using AmeriColor's food coloring student kit and love how vibrant the colors are. I added 2-3 drops of green and red food coloring to the cookie dough.
How it comes together
Below is a quick overview of how to make these familiar spritz cookies. For the full recipe, scroll down to the method card below.
- Beat the butter and sugar together. It should look light in color and airy in texture.
- Add in the baking powder, egg, and vanilla.
- Add in the flour. Stir together on low speed until well blended.
- Divide the dough. You only need to do this if you plan to color the dough red and green. Make sure to clean your cookie press in between using the different colored doughs.
- Press the cookies out and decorate. Add a little red, green, or blue sanding sugar or nonpareils to the cookies.
- Bake. 375ºF for 8-10 minutes. For reference, mine came out well at 9 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool slightly. Then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.
- Another decorating tip. You can even melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips with coconut oil and pipe them onto the cookies.
- Store the cookies in a food container. Don't forget the slice of bread to keep the spritz cookie nice and soft.
Cookie Press Tips
- Have patience. Seriously. It takes a little bit of time to get the hang of using a cookie press. If the first couple of cookies don't come out as you like, you can also scoop the dough and repress it!
- Don't grease your cookie sheets. Or use parchment paper, for that matter. The dough, in my experience, never sticks to it. Ungreased cookie sheets are best.
- Keep the cookie press flat on the cookie sheet. Never do it at an angle.
- Pump the cookie press handle just once. Twice and you'll have an even bigger cookie.
- Pause, then lift straight up. After you press the handle, pause a second before lifting the cookie press straight up.
- Space out your spritz cookies. Leave about 1-2 inches between each cookie.
- Clean your cookie press. This is more of a tip for when you're using the cookie press with different colored spritz cookie dough.
Questions on this bake
What cookie press do you recommend?Try the cookie press by OXO. It's easy to handle and clean, and it comes with a nice set of discs to use year-round.
What's the best way to store spritz cookies?Store them in a well-sealed container with a slice of bread to keep them soft.
What food coloring is best to use for cookie dough?I recommend AmeriColor food coloring. I have their student kit, which comes with 12 different colors.
- Yield 84 cookies
- Prep 20 minutes
- Cook 10 minutes
- Total 30 minutes
- Calories 71
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
Optional Decorating Extras
- 2-3 drops Red Food Coloring
- 2-3 drops Green Food Coloring
- Red Sanding Sugar
- Green Sanding Sugar
- Blue Sanding Sugar
- White Nonpareils
- 6-8 oz Semi-sweet Chocolate, used after baking cookies
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil, melted with the chocolate
Method
- Adjust your oven to the 2nd level mark (just above center) and preheat your oven to 375ºF. Hold to the side 2-3 ungreased cookie sheets (no parchment paper is needed either).
- Using your stand mixer with a large mixing bowl (or a stand mixer and paddle attachment work well too), beat the unsalted butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light in color and airy in texture.
- Add in the baking powder, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Add in the all-purpose flour and stir together on low speed until well blended. The cookie dough should be smooth and something thick.
- If coloring your cookie dough, divide it out into separate bowls. Add 2-3 drops of food coloring to each bowl of cookie dough, then mix with a hand mixer.
- Fill the cookie press, then using your preferred disc shape, press out each cookie onto an ungreased cookie sheet (parchment paper not needed either), leaving 1-2 inches between them. Decorate using sanding sugars or nonpareils.
- Bake the cookies at 375ºF for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will puff up but will not spread that much. Let them cool on the cookie sheet slightly before carefully transferring them to a cooling rack.
- After cooling, you can mix chocolate and coconut oil to pipe onto the cookies. The chocolate mixture should be thinner, making it easier to pipe.
- Keep cookies at room temperature in an airtight container with a slice of bread to keep them nice and soft.
Baker notes
You can melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips with coconut oil and pipe them onto the cookies.
Store your cookies in a food container. To keep them extra soft, add a slice a bread to the container.
