Continuing with our Christmas cookies, today it’s my tried and true classic Spritz cookies! I’ve shared quite a few old-world treats such as krumkake, rosettes, and lefse which are all Scandinavian.
Today, we’re drawing from Germany for our cookies. The name comes from the word, spritzen, which means to squirt.
This classic Spritz cookie recipe is the perfect balance of butter, crisp, and sugar! For my kids and Mark, I started adding a very thin almond & sugar frosting/glaze and sprinkles to them. You may also want to add slivered almonds to the frosted tops as I have on some.
Special Equipment for Classic Spritz Cookies
Before you get busy baking, make sure you need to have a few things on hand.
- A cookie press or gun. To get the classic shape, you can use a cookie press or use a pastry bag. My preference for shaping is the gun style like this one.
My press is old and I’ve had it for many many years. If you are looking for this gun-style press, I recommend this one from Amazon. It has a pretty nice little case to hold all the discs for different cookies.
OR use you could use a pastry bag and tips. From my research, bakers used to use pastry bags and tips to squirt the cookie dough out onto a baking sheet. Thankfully, we get the benefit of a cookie press or gun.
- Cookie Sheets. I like these cookie sheets because they are double-wall and stack nicely together. You can also find this type of cookie sheet in SAMS Club or Costco.
- Silicone baking mats. Due to the butter content in these cookies, you do not need to spray your cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. My baked goods tend to be lighter on the bottom and I can prevent excessive browning. For this reason, I use silicone mats for nearly all my baking.
Now for my frosted spritz cookie recipe…
Class Spritz Cookies Recipe (Frosted or Not)
Ingredients
Cookie
- 1 c. butter
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 ¼ c. powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 2 ½ c. flour
Frosting/Glaze
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp. almond extract
- 2 to 3 tbsp. of water
- sprinkles or slivered almonds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, powdered sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the extracts.
- Gradually mix the flour into the creamed mixture. Add food coloring to your dough if desired.
- Assemble your cookie press with desired stamp shape. Press the dough through the press onto an ungreased cookie sheet, adjusting your dough amount as needed.
- Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until very light golden brown. Do not let them brown too much or they will be very hard.
- Remove the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
- The cookies are finished and ready to enjoy unless you decide to add a glaze to them.
Glaze
- Mix the powdered sugar, almond extract, and enough water for your preferred glaze consistency.
- Glaze and decorate your cookies if desired.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
