Name: The Best Spritz Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 38 min
Yield: 30
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup butter; 1/2 cup sugar; 2 1/4 cups flour; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 egg; 1 tsp almond extract

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Ah, spritz cookies. The Christmas classic! I’m going to give you the recipe, hints for making your cookies the best they can be, and even a discussion on cookie presses.

My daughter came over to make Christmas cookies together last weekend, and what a treat that was! You definitely appreciate those moments with your kids when they’re all grown up! And spritz was on our list of must-make cookies for Christmas.

The Secret to the Best Spritz Cookies

Have you ever noticed that some of the spritz cookies you eat at church or school get-togethers are great and some are, uh, average? I’ll tell you right away the secret to the best spritz cookies:

Use almond flavoring.

Don’t use vanilla. Vanilla is great for most recipes, but for spritz, where you taste each flavor in these delicate cookies, use almond.

Other Tips for Making the Best Spritz Cookies

The next most important tip is to use a high-quality real butter and to

make sure your butter is softened.

These cookies, after all, are sometimes called butter cookies, so you want the best flavor for such a primary ingredient.

Use a good-quality white unbleached flour. The unbleached part is for your health, and the white part–well, most of you will say, yeah, I use white flour anyway. I’m one of those people who sticks whole-wheat flour into everything, much to the chagrin of my kids when they were growing up! Whole-wheat flour is great in Quick Holiday Sweet Bread, Blueberry Muffins, and even in Swedish Tea Ring. The baked goods shown in the photographs I took of those three recipes were all made with whole-wheat flour.

But spritz cookies are an exception where white flour gives the most delicate flavor.

Next, have fun with food coloring. Mix some red in with your green. Or some red in with your white (uncolored).

Decorate with various sprinkles or even mini chocolate chips.

Discussion on Cookie Presses

For some reason, the term “good quality cookie press” seems to be an oxymoron–that is, the term is a contradiction. A good-quality cookie press is difficult to find. Just know that you have to work with the press a bit and be patient.

I’ve spent hours shopping for cookie presses for my grownup daughters and found few, if any, that had a truly good rating. And since this is a piece of kitchen equipment you likely use once a year, it’s not worth it to spend a ton of money on it.

For myself, I’ve had the Wilton cookie press for 15 years, and just this year it was malfunctioning. But 15 years is pretty good, I’d say.

For my daughters, I spent a little more and bought the Pampered Chef cookie press, since that brand name generally means quality. Reports from them are that it is good as long as the cookie sheets are cool.

So, for the price, I’d have to recommend the Wilton. And that is likely the one I’m going to buy to replace my old one.

the best spritz cookies with a glass of milk

Now, if you find you’ve eaten too many cookies and want to start a fitness program, check out my favorite running shoes ever: Xero Shoes!

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