Spritz Butter Cookies

Before you start

Spritz cookies are buttery shapes pushed through a cookie press, a Scandinavian and German holiday staple whose name comes from the German word for squirt. The dough has to strike a balance: soft enough to pass through the press disk, firm enough to hold the pattern, and rich enough that the cookies taste of butter without spreading into blobs.

The usual advice for cookies is reversed here. Do not chill the dough, because cold dough will not come through the press. And do not line or grease the pan: the dough needs to stick to a cool, bare metal sheet so it releases from the press when you lift it. Most problems come from one of those two things, or from a sheet that is still warm from the last batch.

Ingredients

• 225 g (1 cup) unsalted butter — softened to about 20°C (68°F)
• 135 g (⅔ cup) granulated sugar
• 1 large (about 50 g) egg — room temperature
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 280 g (2¼ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 2 tbsp colored sanding sugar or sprinkles — optional

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Make sure the baking sheets are clean, dry and cool, with no parchment, silicone or grease.
2. Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and creamy. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat until smooth, scraping the bowl.
3. Add the flour and salt and mix on low until a soft, smooth dough forms. It should feel like soft play dough: it holds a fingerprint but is not sticky.
4. Pack the dough into the press barrel without air pockets and fit the disk you want. Hold the press upright with its base flat on the sheet, squeeze one full click and lift straight up. Space the cookies about 2.5 cm (1 in) apart.
5. If a shape does not release, scrape it back into the barrel and try again. The first two or three are often misshapen while the press fills.
6. Decorate with sanding sugar or sprinkles if using, pressing them on lightly.
7. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until the edges are just turning golden and the tops are still pale.
8. Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 2 minutes, then move them to a rack with a thin spatula. Run the empty sheet under cool water and dry it, or alternate sheets, before pressing the next batch.

Tips for success

• Read your press's directions on the number of clicks per cookie; some disks need one click, others two.
• If the dough is too stiff to press, beat in 1 to 2 teaspoons of milk. If it is too soft and shapes look blurry, add a tablespoon of flour.
• For tinted dough, add gel food coloring with the egg so it mixes evenly without overworking the flour.

Substitutions

Egg

Use 1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon milk. The cookies are slightly richer and more tender but may be a little more fragile.

Granulated sugar

Powdered sugar at 100 g makes a smoother dough with sharper detail and a more melting texture.

Almond extract

Replace it with ½ teaspoon lemon or orange zest, or leave it out and use 2 teaspoons vanilla for a plain butter cookie.

Variations

Chocolate spritz

Replace 30 g of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder and drop the almond extract.

Dipped wreaths

Use the wreath disk, bake, then dip half of each cooled cookie in melted white chocolate and add sprinkles before it sets.

Troubleshooting

Dough will not stick to the pan

The sheet is warm, greasy, nonstick-coated or lined. Use a cool, bare aluminum sheet and keep the press flat against it as you squeeze.

Shapes spread and lose detail

The butter was too warm or the dough too soft. Add a little flour, keep the kitchen cool and never press onto a hot sheet.

Dough is hard to push through

It was chilled or overmeasured with flour. Let it come to room temperature and add milk a teaspoon at a time.

Storage

Store spritz cookies in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. They freeze well for up to 3 months. Keep the dough tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, then let it soften at room temperature before pressing.

Safety notes

Contains wheat, egg and milk. The raw dough contains egg and flour and should only be eaten after baking.