These are my favorite spritz cookies! Using a cookie press, shape this easy buttery cookie dough into intricate shapes and have fun decorating with sprinkles, chocolate, and chocolate chips. No cookie dough chilling required and the cookies freeze and ship wonderfully.
I originally published this recipe in 2018 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and additional success tips.
What Are Spritz Cookies?
The base dough is very similar to my sugar cookies, butter cookies, and pinwheel cookies. Each are shaped a different way, and spritz cookies are shaped with a cookie press. They’re buttery and sweet and, with the right recipe, hold their intricate shape when baked. Spritz cookies are also similar to shortbread cookies, but spritz cookies usually contain an egg. Eggs help the spritz cookies hold their shape when baked, so they don’t crumble like shortbread cookies do.
The word “spritz” actually comes from the German word spritzen which means “to squirt.” This refers to squirting or pushing the cookie dough through a cookie press. I don’t know why, but I always associate the word spritz with “spritely” because spritz cookies remind me of something little spritely fairies would eat!
One reader, Julie, commented: “The cookies came out great, and tasted delicious! I’m very new to baking, so I ordered the OXO cookie press, read all of your tips, and was thrilled with the results. If I could make these, anyone can! I can’t wait to make these again! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Patti, commented: “I have been making spritz cookies forever. I saw that you were using the same cookie press that I have so I decided to try your recipe. This is the nicest my cookies have ever looked since I started baking them. ★★★★★”
What Is a Cookie Press?
I added a cookie press to my baking tools collection a few years ago. Inside this baking tool is a metal plate with a stenciled shape. A cookie press presses your cookie dough through the metal plate to create beautifully shaped cookies. It’s actually a lot easier than a rolling pin and cookie cutters!
- I recommend this OXO cookie press. This is not a sponsored post; I genuinely love this cookie press. It’s the easiest to use and comes with 12 different shapes you can swap out. Just read the hundreds of positive reviews. It also makes a wonderful holiday gift! I always include it in my annual guide full of Holiday Gifts for Bakers.
How to Make Spritz Cookies
This is my favorite recipe for spritz cookies. I love it so much that I published it in my cookbook Sally’s Cookie Addiction. Here’s why this is my favorite:
- Uses very basic ingredients
- 1-bowl recipe: Like snowball cookies, another easy and classic Christmas cookie!
- No dough-chilling required
- Fun to decorate, with no separate icing recipe required: Use sprinkles, chocolate chips, melted chocolate; and try tinting some of the dough a color.
- Freezer-friendly: After thawing, they still taste fresh!
- Ship wonderfully: These cookies hold their shape during the journey! Learn more about how to ship cookies.
The dough comes together in 1 bowl, using a mixer. There is no baking powder or baking soda needed; these buttery spritz cookies are dense, not airy. They hardly spread, so you can fit a bunch onto your baking sheets. Since the cookies are small, you can use 1 batch of dough to make a variety of shapes with your cookie press. You can even tint some of the cookie dough red or green like you see in my pictures!
How Do I Use a Cookie Press?
Each press comes with a set of instructions and the OXO cookie press I recommend is super user-friendly. Select a plate, such as the snowflake shape, and place it in the bottom compartment. After your cookie dough is prepared, spoon it inside the tube. Attach the top of the cookie press to the tube. Hold the cookie press upright, with the bottom pressed against your baking sheet. Press the lever until it clicks and lift up the cookie press. The shaped cookie will be on your baking sheet! *If the cookie dough sticks to the cookie press, use your fingers or a knife to release it and place onto the cookie sheet.
- No Cookie Press? Instead, use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (13 mm) open star tip and use my butter cookies or chocolate butter cookies recipe, which is this cookie dough with a little milk to help make it pipe-able. 🙂
Can I admit I prefer making these over decorating sugar cookies with royal icing? Spritz cookies are much neater and faster to make, and are festive right out of the oven!
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
My Favorite Spritz Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 84 bite-size cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are my favorite spritz cookies! Using a cookie press, shape this easy cookie dough into intricate shapes and have fun decorating with sprinkles, chocolate, and chocolate chips. No cookie dough chilling required and they freeze and ship wonderfully.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 and 1/3 cups (291g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- optional: gel food coloring, sprinkles, chocolate chips, and melted chocolate for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Line 2 or 3 large baking sheets with silicone baking mats, or use nonstick baking sheets with no liner. (Do not use parchment paper because the cookie dough, when pressed out of the cookie press, will not adhere to it.) While the oven is preheating, and if your refrigerator or freezer has room, it’s helpful to chill your lined baking sheets. It sounds odd, but dough coming out of the cookie press adheres much better to a cold surface.
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- On low speed, beat in the flour and salt. Turn up to high speed and beat until completely combined.
- Press the dough: Follow cookie press manufacturer’s directions to fit your cookie press with a decorative plate. Scrape some of the dough into your cookie press. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to the cold lined baking sheet and press out the cookies 2 inches (5 cm) apart. If desired, decorate the shaped cookie dough with sprinkles or press a chocolate chip into the center. Note: It’s helpful to lightly brush the shaped cookie dough with water before adding sprinkles—this helps them stick.
- If the cookie dough becomes too soft as you work, chill the shaped cookie dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking.
- Bake until very lightly browned on the edges, 7–9 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, drizzle with melted chocolate.
- Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to 4 days before pressing the dough through the cookie press. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months; allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before continuing with step 5. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months; thaw before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | OXO Cookie Press | Cooling Rack | Gel Food Coloring (if desired for tinting the cookie dough) | Sprinkles (such as Red Sanding Sugar, Green Sanding Sugar, Sapphire Sanding Sugar, or Christmas Nonpareils)
- Almond Extract: Almond extract adds such a wonderful flavor and I don’t recommend skipping it. If desired, you can leave it out completely or add another 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in its place. You can also substitute with 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, lemon extract, or another flavor extract you enjoy. Adding 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon is delicious too!
- Food Coloring: I tinted 1/4 of the cookie dough green with 1 very tiny drop of green food coloring. I recommend gel food coloring. Use sparingly; 2 drops is plenty for the entire batch.
- No Cookie Press? No problem! Instead, use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (13 mm) open star tip and use my butter cookies recipe, which is this cookie dough with a little milk to help make it pipe-able.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made these today and they were delicious! I love the way you decorated them. Just wondering if I put a chocolate chip in the center of the flower before baking as you did—will the chocolaté keep its shape? I’m afraid it will melt.
Hi Robin, Yes it will! Most chocolate chips contain stabilizers that help them to maintain their shape (think of the chips in chocolate chip cookies). This is the reason why they shouldn’t be used for melting chocolate, but are perfect in things like cookies.
These were tasty and delicious! I had put off using my new cookie press because of horror stories. Tried this recipe and it was a breeze! Great directions. These have been added to the “must haves” at Christmas.
This recipe worked really well for me! I have never made spritz cookies before, so I was a little nervous about making them, but they were perfect! I think I added too much flour, so the cookies didn’t stick to the pan. I added some water to the dough and tried again, and they stuck!
If you are having trouble with the release, I would say keep the press on the pan for a couple of seconds after to click the cookie out and then lift it straight up. You would think that you should lift up at you press down, but it really only works if you click it, wait, and then lift up the press.
Thanks for the tip. I’m going to be trying these tonight.
Perfect recipe!!
I weigh all my ingredients and followed the recipe to a T. I did not use a silicone mat or parchment paper. The cookies went directly onto the metal cookie sheet. I do recommend to follow Sally’s tip “after you get your cookies into the sheet, place them in the fridge for 10 min before baking”
For spritz cookies your butter really needs to be room temperature. Like, super soft butter left out on your counter all day room temperature.
I use a vintage cookie press, which sometimes is finicky with recipes but not with this one. I also had no issues with burning. My oven runs a little cold so I baked closer to 10 minutes.
This Spritz Cookie was terrible. I am going to use one I found that contained Baking Powder. I chilled these and they still came out flat. I am an experienced baker, so I questioned this recipe from the get go. I should have followed and added BP.
Spritz dough should never be chilled. And I’ve never used baking powder in them, either. I’ve been making spritz cookies for over 40 years.
Didn’t love this recipe -I’ve tried others that were better.Also the only way you’re getting 84 bite size cookies is in your dreams. Using a standard cookie press this barely made 4 dozen.
Cookie tastes good, but burns on the bottom super easily. Used standard cookies sheets with parchment and followed the recipe exactly. Baked for exactly 10 minutes and every cookie is black on the bottom. And they were just in the middle of my oven.
Awesome cookies, I made them with my little granddaughters for our Christmas celebration . I used my cookie electric press I used with their mother in the 1970’s it still works. Thanks it was an easy recipe ❤️
My recipe required 4 cups of flour and the dough is very dry and won’t come through the press. Any suggestions?
Hi Ann! It’s hard to speak to a recipe that we haven’t tested and developed, but it sounds like there’s too much flour in your dough, or your dough is too cold. Did it require chilling? Also make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Thank you for this and all the wonderful recipes!
Merry Christmas
I just found out that lightly spraying the outer surface of the disc made a world of difference in getting the cookie to let go of the press. Was just about to chuck the whole thing in the trash, but this was like magic. Hadn’t made spritz for at least 15 years, and really, really wanted them again. Thank you for the support
Really wanted to love it but it was doughy and flavorless. At first I had issues with my Marcato press and the dough not wanting to stick to the pan, but sorted that out. Needed to bake 11 minutes to make sure they were done (first tray was underdone in my opinion). But even the ones that were baked properly still had no real flavor and I made the recipe exactly as written.
These cookies came out so great! I have struggled with cut-out cookies in the past, so I was anxious to try something that would be festive but easier to make. I added the touch of cinnamon, which made them really delicious. I had no trouble with them spreading. I refrigerated the dough between batches and before putting in the oven. The OXO spritzing gun was very easy to use, too. These will definitely be part of my annual Christmas cookie trays from now on.
The cookies came out great for me. Easy to fill in press came out lovely. I have the Wilton cookie press. My problem was the sprinkles. I did brush with water but no success with them sticking. Perhaps that is video worthy.
I bought the press last Christmas on your recommendation and the cookies turned out great! This year, I want to try more decorations. What kind of chocolate do you use for the drizzle? And how, exactly, do you do it?
Hi Tammy, For the chocolate drizzle, just a bar of pure chocolate melted down. (We prefer Bakers or Ghirardelli brands found in the baking aisle.) You just melt chocolate and you can simply use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the cookies or if you want to be more precise you can fill a piping bag (or even a ziplock bag with the corner cut off) with some melted chocolate.
I’ve made this recipe twice and am going in for a third! Works great and tasty!
Reduced almond extract by 1/2 the second time, and today I’m going to try your cinnamon suggestion.
I weighed ingredients rather than measure.
I have a vintage Mirro press and am still learning best techniques for use with my low-stick cookie sheets. Discovered that chilling sheets (not freezing), leaving press on for a bit (30 sec?) before lifting (too slow…), and then tipping press to one side before lifting did the trick to aid release of dough.
This recipe was perfect for my cookie press. I was certain I need to chill the dough (after all, my grand mother chills her dough and told me that is a must). No chilling was necessary, I was surprised. The cookies came out of the press easily. They tasted delicious. This is my go-to cookie recipe now.
This is my favorite Spritz cookie recipe. Comes out perfect every time. Yes, Spritz cookies can be a bit fussy but once you get the technique down they’re very simple and less time consuming than other cookies. Agree with Sally’s team on using a silicone baking mat. It’s a game changer for these. Just waiting for a fun, alternative to the traditional spritz. 😉
I have been curious about using a cookie press for ages but was scared it would be a waste of money. I was there for delighted to read your recommendation and purchased the Oxo cookie press immediately. I have spent the last four days baking spritz cookies of all shapes with nothing but success! I have sent Christmas cookie parcels to all the family & I just love how they make me look ‘professional’
The cookie press comes with three recipes also. I have had equal success with those and your recipe.
I can’t thank you enough for the recommendation, Sally. The spritz cookies (& your amazing cranberry orange cookies) have made me very popular this festive season!
Excellent flavor but I had a heck of a time pressing them. I
had ordered the OXO press too. The first batch came out ok but the
others did not. Do you need to wash the press between each batch?
Perhaps the dough got too warm and sticky after the first batch – it may help to pause and chill the dough for 10-20 minutes if it seems too sticky.
Didn’t work for me. I weighed the ingredients exactly as the recipe indicated, but the dough was too soft and didn’t release from the press. I tried refrigerating the dough, and I added more flour, but it was a struggle. I salvaged things by trying to press the cookies out numerous times. Overall, took me 3 times as long to make them. I’ll stick to the recipe that came with my cookie press.
Hi Sally! Delicious recipe and helpful tips. Can you kindly advise how to make a chocolate version of a spritz cookie? How much cocoa powder or any thing else should I add to this recipe? I was hoping to bake both chocolate and vanilla throughout the Christmas season! Happy Holidays
Hi Reyna, while we haven’t tried this yet, you can try using our chocolate sugar cookies dough. We recommend chilling the shaped cookies (before baking) for at least 30 minutes so they hold they’re shape in the oven.
Loved these! Super easy and yummy. I made a batch with peppermint extract and melted chocolate drizzle, and a batch of the normal almond recipe with the optional cinnamon. Was my first time using a cookie press and they came out stellar!
How do you get sprinkles to stick to cookies after they are baked?
Hi Carol!, it’s best to add sprinkles before baking for these cookies. That way they stick to the dough!
i am so excited to make these! i cant have almond/ tree nuts, is the almond extract essential to this recipe or can i skip it/ add something else?
Hi Nina! See the recipe note about almond extract: you can leave it out completely or add another 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in its place. You can also substitute with 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, lemon extract, or another flavor extract you enjoy. Adding 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon is delicious too!
My grandma used to add lemon zest to her spritz recipe and it gave it a sweet lemony taste I loved. I wonder how much zest is enough and if its a good idea to pair it with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. I love both flavors but I’m not sure they go together
I have made the recipe exactly as written, I have the Oxo cookie press, I’m not using parchment paper, I have put them in the fridge before baking, but no matter what I do, the cookies spread! They barely retain their shape! What am I doing wrong? Do I need more flour? . Maybe it’s my oven temp?( I have a thermometer & it seems like it’s not holding the temp steady?) Help!
Hi Lisa, make sure you are adjusting the oven temperature on the control settings up/down so the inside is what it needs to be. Adding a few Tablespoons of flour can help, and if you measure in grams, about 30g. If your refrigerator has room, you can chill the pressed cookies on the baking sheet in the refrigerator as the oven preheats. That helps too.
Can I omit the almond extract? We don’t like the almond taste. If I can omit it, do I have ‘to use more vanilla?
Hi Lassie, absolutely, you can simply omit the almond extract without any other changes. Enjoy!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it looks fairly easy and these cookies are ones my mother used to always make for Christmas! Thank you for a recipe that looks fairly easy! I do have a question? Why do you have to use a silpat mat?
Thank you!
Hi Rhonda! Baking mats are our favorite cookie-baking tool. Coating your baking sheet with nonstick spray or butter creates an overly greasy foundation, which causes the cookies to over-spread. We always recommend a silicone baking mat because they grip onto the bottom of your cookies, preventing the cookies from spreading too much. These mats also promote even browning. Let us know if you give these cookies a try!
The dough spread too much for me. I tried to bind a little by putting in the fridge, but then it became impossible to press
Try, pressing first, then refrigerating for 10 to 15 minutes, then putting in the oven. Hope this helps!