Spritz Cookies, also known as
Swedish Butter Cookies or Pressed Butter Cookies, are a popular Christmas
cookie. They have a
lovely sweet and buttery flavor with a texture that is tender crisp. As their
name implies, "Spritz" is German for "spritzen" meaning "to squirt", which is
exactly what is done with this cookie dough. By that I mean we make these
cookies using a cookie press (gun).
Here is
the link to the cookie press that I used in the video #ad. This device has a cylindrical barrel with an easy-to-squeeze trigger
or press, that
squirts the soft dough through a decorative template giving us all sorts of
wonderful looking cookies. You can make wreaths, flowers, trees, rosettes, stars,
and stripes, to name a few. And while they are delicious plain, you can also decorate
the cookies with candied cherries, nuts, colored sprinkles or
sugars.
Spritz Cookies contain only
a few ingredients, butter, sugar, egg yolks, and flour. You can flavor the batter with vanilla extract or almond extract. Baking
powder is not used because we want the cookies to maintain their
shape during baking.
When you mix the Spritz
batter it is simply a matter of creaming the butter with the sugar, beating
in the egg yolks, and then the flour. The batter needs
to be of the right consistency. You want it soft enough so it easily
pushes through the cookie press, but not so soft that the shape is not
defined. If you find it too soft, then refrigerate the batter for about 15
to 30 minutes. Also, do not to use parchment paper on your
baking sheets. The cookies adhere better to a buttered baking sheet that
has been chilled in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Keep in mind
that the longer you chill the baking sheet the colder it will be, which
will affect the baking time. And if you do not own a cookie press, you can
make these cookies using a pastry bag fitted with an open star tip.
Spritz Cookies: Preheat
your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Butter two baking sheets and place
them in the refrigerator to chill while you make the batter.
In the bowl of your
electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar
until combined. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract (if using) and beat
until incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as
needed. Add the flour and salt and beat until you have a well mixed batter.
To Press Cookies: Scrape
some of the batter into your
cookie press #ad that has been fitted with a decorative
plate (follow manufacturer's instructions). Hold the cookie press perpendicular
to your chilled baking sheet, and press out the cookies. (If you find the shape
of the cookies is not clearly defined then the batter is too soft, so
refrigerate the batter for about 15-30 minutes.) Continue to press out
the cookies, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. If desired, decorate the cookies with
pieces of candied cherries, nuts, colored sprinkles or colored sugars.
To Pipe Cookies: Have
ready a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) diameter open star tip. Fill the
pastry bag about half full, twist the end of the bag to close, and pipe rosettes or stars by holding the pastry bag perpendicular to
your baking sheet, with the tip almost touching the sheet. Squeeze the
pastry bag firmly and evenly without moving it until the shape is the desired
size. Stop squeezing and push the pastry bag down a little and then lift the
pastry bag straight up. Continue to pipe cookies, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm)
apart.
Bake cookies for about 9-13
minutes
or just until the edges of the cookies are barely tinged with brown. Remove from
oven and gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. In a
covered container, these
cookies will keep at room temperature for about 10 - 14 days or they can be frozen
for several months.
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