Name: Spritz Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 7 min
Total time: 22 min
Ingredients: 1 cup salted butter (softened); 2/3 cup sugar; 3 egg yolks; 1 tsp vanilla; 2 1/2 cups flour

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These are my favorite Christmas cookies. Spritz cookies are traditional German Christmas cookies made with a cookie press and lots of butter!

Colorful Christmas cookies o f various shapes and colors, including red wreaths, gold bells, blue ornaments and green Christmas trees. A green Christmas tree-shaped cookie with multicolored non pareils is centered.

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Every year, my paternal grandmother made an enormous, near unconscionable amount of Christmas cookies. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, cherry winks, butter horns and spritz. Dozens upon dozens of them.

It was as if she had magic, bottomless tupperware containers that just kept refilling themselves. She never ran out and had enough to send everyone home with at least three dozen. I can't imagine how long this took her. I lived two hours away and was never around to help. It must have taken weeks.

Spritz cookies were always my dad's favorite (and mine). That's the only kind he wanted in his take-home tupperware container. When he got them home, he would hide them way in the back of the pantry. I remember when, as a teenager, I discovered his hidden cookie stash.

Red, blue, and green Spritz cookies of various shapes on a baking sheet.

I thought, "Really? This forty-two year-old man is actually hiding grandma's Christmas cookies from his teenage daughter and his (second, and younger) wife? Really?" It wasn't like he just put them on a high shelf or something. He pushed them way to the back of the shelf in the corner and put bigger things in front of the container so you could not see it. It was purposeful. Very purposeful.

I used to carefully plot just how many I could steal while he was at work without him noticing. It was even funnier that he thought he was getting away with the whole charade.

A plate of colorful Christmas cookies in various shapes, including red wreaths, gold bells, blue ornaments and green Christmas trees.

So, you know how you sometimes need to just come home after a hard day and whip up a batch of cookies real quick to make it all better? These cookies are not those. These spritz cookies take some effort, a bit of organization, and butter. Lots and lots of butter.

And a cookie press.

An electric cookie press with wording that says Wear Ever Super Shooter, surrounded by small metal discs for making cookies of various shapes.

My mom and I have made these cookies together for many years. We had a metal cookie press with a hand crank that was a ridiculous pain in the butt to use.

One year, we planned out our Christmas cookie making day and went to retrieve the cookie press from the cabinet over the fridge. (That's the cabinet you only open once per year, because the only things in there are the cookie press and a fondue pot.)

The metal cookie press was not there.

But this spectacular 1970's masterpiece was.

A cookie press box from the 1970's that says, "Wear Ever Super Shooter, Electric Cookie, Canape & Candy Maker. It triggers a whole new era of ease, convenience, and versatility in the kitchen."

Box for a 1970's cookie press with vintage photos along the side showing "beautiful candy mints", "easy filled desserts", "delicous deviled eggs", and "interesting salads."

Isn't it fab? It makes canapés! It makes 'interesting salads'! A new era of ease and versatility! And in case you need any more suggestions:

A recipe book entitled, "The Super Shooter Idea Book" featuring simple drawings of the kitchen tool and the food that can be made with it.

Here's the thing: My mother has no idea where this came from. No idea. She borrowed it from someone? Someone gave it to her? Did you give it to her? Anyone claiming this thing? Well, too late. It's mine now. The plug gets real hot when you use it, but it's fine, it's fine.

More holiday dessert recipes:

What are spritz cookies?

Spritz cookies are a traditional German butter cookie made with a cookie press. They are often made at Christmas time because you can make festive shapes!

How to make Spritz Cookies

Here's the thing: you have to use salted butter in this recipe!

Yes, I said salted butter. This is a super old-timey recipe from a 1960's Betty Crocker cook book. I don't even know if they sold unsalted butter back then. There's no salt listed in the recipe, so this works, trust me.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream together the butter, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Use an electric mixer or a fork.

Sift flour into mixture and combine. (Once flour is initially mixed in, it's best to just use your hands to get all of the flour evenly distributed and bring the dough together.)

A glass bowl containing four portions of cookie dough in four colors: red, blue, green and yellow.

Divide dough into portions and add food coloring (again, use your hands to get it all mixed in.) My grandmother just made one big batch and swirled in a couple of drops of red and green, so all of her shapes were the same color. This saves a bit of time and energy, if you prefer.

You need a good cookie press. The cheap ones tend to break almost immediately. I'm never giving up my vintage 1970s splendor of a press, but this Marcato cookie press is made of anodized aluminum and steel, has a 10-year warranty and comes in fun colors! Lots of good reviews too.

Select shape, put dough into cookie press, and press cookies out onto cookie sheet.

I like to use insulated baking sheets for Spritz cookies, as they are small and buttery and it seems to keep them from getting too brown on the bottom.

Side view of several green, Christmas tree shaped cookies on a silver cookie sheet waiting to be baked.

Decorate if desired.

Side view of several green, Christmas tree shaped cookies on a silver cookie sheet waiting to be baked, some with red sugar sprinkles on top.

Bake for 7 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly on the cookie sheet, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Continue with various shapes and colors.

Christmas cookies on a cookie sheet waiting to be baked, in the shape of gold bells, blue ornaments, and red wreaths.

Colorful, baked Christmas cookies on a cookie sheet, decorated with non pareils and sugar sprinkles. Gold bells, blue ornaments, and red wreaths.

You'll have a little dough left in the press that won't come through. Save these bits, combine and make the swirly twirlies!!

Multi-colored Christmas cookies on a cookie sheet waiting to be baked.

Multi-colored Christmas cookies on a cookie sheet.

Should you use parchment paper when baking spritz cookies?

No. Do not grease the cookie sheet either. They will slide all over and loose their shape. They need something grippy to grip onto. And since there is so much butter in the recipe they come off the cookie sheet very easily.

Can you freeze spritz cookies?

Yes! They are very delicate, so to avoid breakage use this process: once they are completely cool lay them in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze. Then you can transfer them to an airtight plastic container and keep in the freezer for about a month. (If you put them in a ziploc bag, they will dissolve into crumbs.)

More cookie recipes:

Spritz Cookies

These are my favorite Christmas cookies. Spritz cookies are traditional German Christmas cookies made with a cookie press and lots of butter!

4.5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: butter cookies, cookies, Dessert

Cuisine: Christmas cookies, family recipe, german, spritz cookies

Keyword: Classic holiday cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

Servings: cookies

Calories: 96kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup salted butter softened
⅔ cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream together softened butter, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla with a fork or electric mixer.
Sift flour into butter mixture and combine. Your hands are your best tool to ensure that the flour is evenly mixed in and bring the dough together.
Divide dough into portions and add food coloring, if desired.
Choose cookie shape, insert dough into press, and press out onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 7 minutes until set, but not brown.
Allow to cool slightly on cookie sheet. Carefully remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Don't use parchment paper and do not grease the pan. The cookies need something to hold onto otherwise they will dissolve into a pool of butter. I use insulated baking sheets when I make these so they cook evenly and don't get too brown on the bottom.
You need a cookie press for this recipe. I have my vintage one that I'm never giving up. But if you're going to buy one, I'd recommend the best one you can find, because the cheap ones break very quickly. This Marcato cookie press is made from anodized aluminum and steel and has a 10-year warranty, as well as loads of good reviews. And it comes in fun colors!

Nutrition

Debra

December 01, 2020 at 9:26 am

Hi Ellen,

It can sometimes be challenging to get them off the press. I seem to have a few bad ones before I have good ones, kind of like throwing away the first pancake... Here are my suggestions:

1. Don't use dough that is too cold. I use my hands to work the food coloring into the dough, and to get it into the press, so it's room temp when I'm getting it onto the cookie sheets. This is probably the most important.
2. Don't use parchment paper or non-stick cookie sheets. I feel like this dough needs something it can stick to a little in order to come off the press. They have so much butter in them, I've never had a problem with them sticking to a regular cookie sheet when they bake.
3. Start with the cookie press completely flush/in contact with the cookie sheet. Don't press the dough out if you are still hovering above it.
4. I literally twist my neck and get down at eye level with the cookie sheet when I'm pressing out the cookies so I can see when to stop pressing and lift the press off the sheet. I usually get one or two that are too much dough and one or two that are too little, then I get into a rhythm with them.
5. Stop pressing the dough out and wait a beat before you lift the press up. That one little second of waiting seems to really help to set the cookie shape and allow the dough to release from the press.

So the rhythm goes: Cookie press resting flat on cookie sheet, press dough out, stop, then lift.

Let me know if these tips help and how the cookies turn out for you!

Thanks for reading!