These easy Spritz cookies are a great way to spend some time in the kitchen baking with your kids this holiday season!
Dreamy cookie smells wafting out of the kitchen will bring them running in.
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Christmas is almost here! Just a few more weeks to get your shopping done, put up decorations and plan your day.
Did you remember to bake cookies? If not, no worries. These cookies are super easy! love a great spritz cookie recipe. They’re a basic, buttery cookie that you can make a ton of very easily.
This is one of my favorite holiday cookies to make for cookie boxes to give to friends. Or for eating at home, whatever.
I love how easy the recipe is to scale up for big parties of kids in the kitchen, or keep as is. But my favorite part is seeing which disk the kids choose, and what crazy decorating combos they pull off! My kids love to make all kinds of shapes, and then use various designs in their decorating. It’s serious stuff.
You can obviously choose to not decorate them at all, and give friends a plain box and some frosting/candies as a gift that is also an activity!
Know your friends, though. Some of my friends would wonder “what do I do with THIS?” Others would be overjoyed that I provided an activity for them and their family to do.
However you do it, just do it. You’ll love this recipe, I promise!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are they called Spritz Cookies?
The name originates from the German word “Spritzen”. The name spritz means “to squirt” in English. This makes total sense, since we literally squirt the batter out of a cookie press!
What is the difference between a spritz cookie and a shortbread cookie?
Very little, but the main difference is spritz cookies are pressed and baked immediately, with no need for chilling and slicing.
Why won’t my cookies stick to the pan?
Your dough may be too cold. You’ll need it to be warm, and the cookie sheet to be ungreased.
(Affiliate link) If you don’t have cookie presses (yet), grab one from Amazon!
If you DON’T have a cookie press, and still want to try these, you could use a small cookie scoop and just add blobs of dough to a cookie sheet (this is not a great recipe for cookie cutters, since this is a soft dough), then flatten a little.
You can also dump the dough into a piping bag or pastry bag, and make them that way. They won’t be as pretty but they will taste the same!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It’s an easy recipe using basic ingredients that you can double, triple or quadruple and make a lot of cookies!
- If you have more than one cookie press, you can have multiple kids make their very own Christmas cookie tray of Spritz Cookies. So much fun for them to decorate and bake!
Kylee’s Notes & FAQs
Use room temperature butter! It makes creaming easier.
How to store cookies
Store in an airtight container for up to a week, if they last that long!
Substitutions/Additions
You can use vanilla extract and almond extract or peppermint extract in your cookies. They’re yours, so do what you what makes you happy!
If you prefer – add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter, or some cocoa powder.
Want to make different colored cookies? Add a little gel food coloring to your cookie dough and color it up!
These are also super delicious with some confectioners sugar dusted over the top.
Do you add sprinkles before or after baking?
I do it before, but you can also do a REALLY easy trick AFTER baking. Simply brush the cookies with some simple syrup, and and dip in sprinkles, or granulated sugar.
Simple Syrup: 1 cup of sugar, boiled with 1 cup of water to make a syrup.
Key Recipe Ingredients
The full list of ingredients and amounts is found in the printable recipe card below.
- Flour. Plain, all-purpose flour.
- Baking Powder.
- Butter. I use salted, but unsalted butter works too.
- Sugar. Plain white sugar.
- Egg. I use large eggs.
- Milk. Any kind you have on hand is good.
- Vanilla extract. You can use almond extract if you prefer.
How to make Spritz Cookies:
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This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. The full list of ingredients, quantities and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.
Get prepped
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the dough
- Combine the flour and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer and a large bowl), cream butter and sugar on medium speed until pale, light and fluffy.
- Add egg, milk, vanilla extract and mix well.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture (1 cup at a time). Beat until combined and a soft dough forms.
Press the cookies and decorate
- Fill the cookie press with dough and attach a disk (I always do Christmas trees first). Press dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. You may like to use parchment paper like I did, but it is not necessary.
- Decorate with Christmas sprinkles as you wish, or leave plain.
Bake & Cool
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
- Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate with chocolate or frosting if desired.
- Devour.
More delicious cookies:
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. Perfect chocolate chip cookies are the go-to, bees-knees, classic kind of cookie. Crispy, with a little chew, bursting with chocolate chips. Heaven.
- Triple Chocolate Cookies. These soft and chewy triple chocolate cookies are dangerous! They have 3 types of chocolate and are decadent and delicious. Grab a glass of milk!
- German Chocolate Cookies. German Chocolate Cake in cookie form! Soft, chewy chocolate cookies topped with a creamy, caramel/coconut/pecan frosting and drizzled with melted chocolate.
- ALL COOKIE RECIPES
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Christmas Spritz Cookies
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1.5 cups butter (softened)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder and set aside.
- In an electric mixer, beat 1.5 cups butter and 1 cup white sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add 1 egg, 2 tablespoons milk, 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract and mix well.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture (1 cup at a time). Beat until combined.
- Fill cookie press with dough and choose a disks, press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet.
- Decorate as garishly as possible… 😉
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
- Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack.
- Devour.
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Nutrition Facts
Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Update: This recipe was originally published in December of 2020. It was updated with minor changes, and republished in December of 2022.
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