Baking cookies is one of my favorite holiday activities. Although I love to make all types of cookies, one of my favorites to eat is butter cookies. I love the light buttery flavor. This year I bought myself a cookie press. My mom has one, but I had never used one before. I wanted to try baking some spritz cookies, which have a buttery flavor similar to a butter cookie. The name spritz come from the German spritzen meaning “to squirt” because the dough is squirted through a cookie press. After baking my first three batches, I have to say that spritz cookies are dangerously delicious and super easy to make once you get the hang of the cookie press!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of unsalted butter (3 sticks)
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons of whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 3 1/2 cups of flour
• food coloring (optional)
• colored sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
3. Add the egg, whole milk, almond extract, vanilla extract, and optional food coloring to the butter mixture.
4. Stir together the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.
5. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients. Combine until the dough cleans the side of the bowl.
6. Fill a cookie press with the dough.
7. Press the cookie dough onto a chilled baking sheet. Sprinkle the spritz cookies with colored sugar if desired.
8. Chill the unbaked cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
9. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
10. Allow the cookies to cool slightly before removing from the cookie sheet.
11. Allow the cookies to cool thoroughly.
12. Store the classic spritz cookies in an airtight container.

Image Credits

Classic Spritz Cookies Recipe © 2021 Heather Johnson
Butter, Sugar, and Food Coloring for Classic Spritz Cookies © 2021 Heather Johnson
Wet Ingredients for Classic Spritz Cookies © 2021 Heather Johnson
Adding the Dry Ingredients for Classic Spritz Cookies © 2021 Heather Johnson
Dough for Classic Spritz Cookies © 2021 Heather Johnson
Dough in Cookie Press for Classic Spritz Cookies © 2021 Heather Johnson
Unbaked Classic Spritz Cookies © 2021 Heather Johnson
Decorated Unbaked Classic Spritz Cookies © 2021 Heather Johnson
Baked Classic Spritz Cookies © 2021 Heather Johnson
Classic Spritz Cookies 1 © 2021 Heather Johnson
Classic Spritz Cookies 2 © 2021 Heather Johnson