These are my favorite spritz cookies! Using a cookie press, shape this easy buttery cookie dough into intricate shapes and have fun decorating with sprinkles, chocolate, and chocolate chips. No cookie dough chilling required and the cookies freeze and ship wonderfully.
We started my annual 10-day Christmas cookie countdown yesterday with peppermint bark cookies and I have an equally festive classic Christmas cookie recipe for you today.
These are my favorite spritz cookies.
What Are Spritz Cookies?
The base dough is very similar to my sugar cookies, butter cookies, and pinwheel cookies. Each are shaped a different way, and spritz cookies are shaped with a cookie press. They’re buttery and sweet and, with the right recipe, hold their intricate shape when baked. Spritz cookies are also similar to shortbread cookies, but spritz cookies usually contain an egg. Eggs help the spritz cookies hold their shape when baked, so they don’t crumble like shortbread cookies do.
The word “spritz” actually comes from the German word spritzen which means “to squirt.” This refers to squirting or pushing the cookie dough through a cookie press. I don’t know why, but I always associate the word spritz with “spritely” because spritz cookies remind me of something little spritely fairies would eat!
What Is a Cookie Press?
I added a cookie press to my baking tools collection a few years ago. Inside this baking tool is a metal plate with a stenciled shape. A cookie press presses your cookie dough through the metal plate to create beautifully shaped cookies. It’s actually a lot easier than a rolling pin and cookie cutters!
- I recommend this OXO cookie press. This is not a sponsored post; I genuinely love this cookie press. It’s the easiest to use and comes with 12 different shapes you can swap out. Just read the hundreds of positive reviews. It also makes a wonderful holiday gift! I always include it in my annual Holiday Baking Gift Guide.
How to Make Spritz Cookies
This is my favorite recipe for spritz cookies. I love it so much that I published it in my cookbook Sally’s Cookie Addiction. Here’s why this is my favorite:
- Uses very basic ingredients
- 1-bowl recipe: Like snowball cookies, another easy and classic Christmas cookie!
- No dough-chilling required
- Fun to decorate, with no separate icing recipe required: Use sprinkles, chocolate chips, melted chocolate; and try tinting some of the dough a color.
- Freezer-friendly: After thawing, they still taste fresh!
- Ship wonderfully: These cookies hold their shape during the journey! Learn more about how to ship cookies.
The dough comes together in 1 bowl, using a mixer. There is no baking powder or baking soda needed; these buttery spritz cookies are dense, not airy. They hardly spread, so you can fit a bunch onto your baking sheets. Since the cookies are small, you can use 1 batch of dough to make a variety of shapes with your cookie press. You can even tint some of the cookie dough red or green like you see in my pictures!
How Do I Use a Cookie Press?
Each press comes with a set of instructions and the OXO cookie press I recommend is super user-friendly. Select a plate, such as the snowflake shape, and place it in the bottom compartment. After your cookie dough is prepared, spoon it inside the tube. Attach the top of the cookie press to the tube. Hold the cookie press upright, with the bottom pressed against your baking sheet. Press the lever until it clicks and lift up the cookie press. The shaped cookie will be on your baking sheet! *If the cookie dough sticks to the cookie press, use your fingers or a knife to release it and place onto the cookie sheet.
- No Cookie Press? Instead, use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (13 mm) open star tip and use my butter cookies or chocolate butter cookies recipe, which is this cookie dough with a little milk to help make it pipe-able. 🙂
Can I admit I prefer making these over decorating sugar cookies with royal icing? Ha!!! Spritz cookies are much neater and faster to make, and are festive right out of the oven!
Print
My Favorite Spritz Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 84 bite-size cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are my favorite spritz cookies! Using a cookie press, shape this easy cookie dough into intricate shapes and have fun decorating with sprinkles, chocolate, and chocolate chips. No cookie dough chilling required and they freeze and ship wonderfully.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 and 1/3 cups (291g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- optional: gel food coloring, sprinkles, chocolate chips, and melted chocolate for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Line 2 or 3 large baking sheets with silicone baking mats, or use nonstick baking sheets with no liner. (Do not use parchment paper because the cookie dough, when pressed out of the cookie press, will not adhere to it.) While the oven is preheating, and if your refrigerator or freezer has room, it’s helpful to chill your lined baking sheets. It sounds odd, but dough coming out of the cookie press adheres much better to a cold surface.Â
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- On low speed, beat in the flour and salt. Turn up to high speed and beat until completely combined.
- Press the dough: Follow cookie press manufacturer’s directions to fit your cookie press with a decorative plate. Scrape some of the dough into your cookie press. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to the cold lined baking sheet and press out the cookies 2 inches (5 cm) apart. If desired, decorate the shaped cookie dough with sprinkles or press a chocolate chip into the center. Note: It’s helpful to lightly brush the shaped cookie dough with water before adding sprinkles—this helps them stick.
- If the cookie dough becomes too soft as you work, chill the shaped cookie dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking.
- Bake until very lightly browned on the edges, 7–9 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, drizzle with melted chocolate.
- Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to 4 days before pressing the dough through the cookie press. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months; allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before continuing with step 5. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months; thaw before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | OXO Cookie Press | Cooling Rack | Gel Food Coloring (if desired for tinting the cookie dough) | Sprinkles (such as Red Sanding Sugar, Green Sanding Sugar, Sapphire Sanding Sugar, or Christmas Nonpareils)
- Almond Extract: Almond extract adds such a wonderful flavor and I don’t recommend skipping it. If desired, you can leave it out completely or add another 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in its place. You can also substitute with 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, lemon extract, or another flavor extract you enjoy. Adding 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon is delicious too!
- Food Coloring: I tinted 1/4 of the cookie dough green with 1 very tiny drop of green food coloring. I recommend gel food coloring. Use sparingly; 2 drops is plenty for the entire batch.
- No Cookie Press? No problem! Instead, use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (13 mm) open star tip and use my butter cookies recipe, which is this cookie dough with a little milk to help make it pipe-able.
Don’t miss these coconut macaroons!
I’ve been making spritz cookies for years. Perfect every time. But here in Canada, they just wouldn’t turn out right. I thought I’d lost my cooking spirit — so disheartening– till I came across this site. The difference was the room-temp butter. Back home, the climate is much much warmer; in Canada, I had been microwaving butter.
Thank you for the tip!! My cookies are perfect again!
We’re so happy that this recipe was a hit for you, HM!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! The cookies came out great, and tasted delicious! I’m very new to baking, so I ordered the OXO cookie press, read all of your tips, and was thrilled with the results. If I could make these, anyone can! I can’t wait to make these again!
The BEST spritz cookie recipe EVER!
Recipe is great and cookies taste delicious but I lost all definition after using the cookie press. Any ideas why they don’t hold their shape?
Hi Gary, it sounds like your butter may have been a bit too warm, causing the dough to become too soft and not hold its shape. Here’s more on what room temperature butter really means. We’re glad you still enjoyed the cookies!
This recipe is very similar to my Swedish Grandmother’s recipe. Almond Extract makes all the difference! Maybe you can answer a question I have. Are these cookies supposed to be soft or crisp? We have a family debate going! Thank you!
Hi Emily, these cookies are on the softer side. Definitely more of a tender bite than crispy!
My go-to recipe for spritz cookies during the holidays. I did have some problems with the dough not sticking to my parchment. The trick for me was to give the cookie press like a half pump to let some dough out. This gives the cookie something to adhere to the parchment. Then give it the full pump and it should stick. Thank you Sally!
Great recipe, just don’t use silicon mats!
These taste great and the tip about chilling the cookie sheets worked really well. I tried silicon mats but the cookies would not stick to them. So that part of the directions needs to be deleted. (Others have said the same thing).
Chilling the dough part way through worked for me. I don’t have enough sheets to press the entire amount of dough at one time.
Also, sprinkles or sanding sugar will adhere to the dough without brushing the cookies with water. I gave that up right away.
All in all just like my mom used to make.
re: cookie with chocolate chip in the center chocolate drizzle. Did you put the chocolate chip on before baking and drizzle with chocolate afterwards?
Hi C H, exactly right! Most chocolate chips contain stabilizers that help them to maintain their shape (think of the chips in chocolate chip cookies). This is the reason why they shouldn’t be used for melting chocolate, but are perfect in things like cookies.
THIS IS JUST LIKE MY MOM & GRANDMA’S RECEIPE.. IT BRINGS ME BACK TO MY CHILDHOOD.
THEY CAME OUT GREAT. HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
I could not get these to stick to the cookie sheet. It took hours to press them. There was no way to take the cookie off by hand or knife if they didn’t stick. I’m going to try again. Any tips?
The recipe it self is great! I had to sub an extra 1/3 cup of flour because of my gluten free flour. I have the same cookie press and used silicone mats however I’d say 7 out of 10 times the cookies would not stick. It was very frustrating. This isn’t my first spritz cookie rodeo, but definitely my first time having this much trouble with them not sticking.
Love this recipe. Years ago, my mother had a spritz cookie press, but it always annoyed her. On Sally’s recommendation, [1] I bought the OXO cookie press, and [2] chilled my baking sheets in the refrigerator. I would love it if Sally would post a chocolate version. (I used the recipe that came with the cookie press, but I just know that Sally could tweak it to make it better.)
Hi Judy! You can use our chocolate butter cookies recipe in a cookie press – see recipe Notes on that post for details.
Can I use salted butter and leave out the salt? Thank you.
Hi Kris, if using salted butter, you can reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
I loved this recipe! I used this for my annual Christmas cookie exchange and they were a hit! I have family asking for more!
Thanks for this great recipe
I used an older Pampered Chef cookie press which yielded larger than bite sized cookies, I was lucky to get 48.
I am new to cookie pressing, so P erhaps there is a trick to the technique for smaller cookies I am not aware of
This recipe is perfect! I found non-artificial food coloring and sprinkles (Watkins brand) so I wanted to use them on some holiday shaped cookies. The tip about putting the cookie sheets in the fridge to make them cold really works and now I get why it was important (so the dough sticks to the sheet when you use the press). My first 2 batches came out great that way, but I only have 2 sheets so I didn’t have time to put them in the fridge again before re-using for the next batches. The next batches didn’t come out well for that very reason (the dough wouldn’t “stick” to the sheet when I pressed it out. I ended up sticking one of them in the fridge anyway for a few minutes with half the cookies pressed on. That helped a ton. So don’t skip that step!! I also like that this recipe isn’t too overly sweet.
This is the best spritz cookie recipe I have ever used. So tender and buttery. Delicious doesn’t begin to describe them and they are so easy to make!
Worked great and tastes like I remember (though I made without the almond extract). I did have to bake a few minutes longer just to get the edges golden.
For food coloring, do you separate (if only tinting partial batch) after step 4 and then beat again until the color is fully combined? I know it’s bad to overbeat so wondering the best way to do this if I want to use a couple different colors for one batch.
Hi Kathleen, if tinting from one batch, that would be the best way to do it. Enjoy!
I have been making spritz cookies forever. I saw that you were using the same cookie press that I have so I decided to try your recipe. This is the nicest my cookies have ever looked since I started baking them. Thank you so much
Taste okay… Cookies bloated in comparison to cookie cutter designs. Needs either less butter or a bit more flour
These are melt in your mouth delicious!
I use this recipe every Christmas! However, when I tint the dough I have a hard time with the cookies sticking to my cookie sheet. Do you have this problem ever? Do you have any tricks to get them to stick to the pan?
Hi Holly, I haven’t experienced that same problem. However, if the cookie dough sticks to the cookie press and not the baking sheet, use your fingers or a knife to release it and gently place onto the cookie sheet.
Thanks so much for the info on freezing. I got two pans baked and just needed to stop. I was crossing my fingers hoping that putting the rest of the dough in the fridge wouldn’t ruin everything! I love your recipes. They never let me down.
Can we do this without egg?
Hi Shelly, the egg is necessary here and we haven’t tested any substitutes. You might enjoy these shortbread cookies instead—similar buttery cookie, but made in a cake pan.
I didn’t chill the dough because it didn’t say to-but I checked on my cookies after three minutes and they were a melted mess. It’s all direct directions to a T.
These were great and held their shape! I used the same oxo cookie press. I took the tip from step 6 and refrigerated the cookies for 10 minutes.
This was my first time using a cookie press and now these are a new favorite Christmas cookie! I colored the dough green and added red sprinkles.