The Best Classic Spritz Cookies Recipe – A Holiday Favorite
Discover joy in every bite with our easy spritz cookies recipe! Perfect for festive moments and sweet cravings. Whip up a batch today!
Step into the warmth of nostalgia with our Old-Fashioned Spritz Cookies recipe, a delightful journey back to the classic charm of traditional baking.
These cookies are bite-sized cookies that effortlessly combines buttery goodness with a touch of sweetness.
What makes these cookies the best? It’s one with a buttery dough that practically melts in your mouth, shaped into whimsical designs that bring smiles to faces of all ages.
This easy spritz cookie recipe is so much more than just for the Christmas cookie tray. Thanks to their festive cookie shapes, buttery spritz cookies are perfect for a cookie swap and any special occasion.
Our spritz cookie recipe is so much fun to make! Designed to be both foolproof and fabulous, even beginners can confidently whip up a batch of these crowd-pleasers.
Discover the magic of old-fashioned spritz cookies – a recipe that has stood the test of time and continues to bring comfort and happiness to every bite.
How to Make Classic Spritz Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Equipment
Stand Mixer with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer
Mixing bowl
Baking trays
Cookie gun
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Pop your cookie sheets in the fridge before pressing for cleaner shapes.
Prepare 2 large baking sheets with a sheet of parchment paper.
Note: Use the empty butter wrappers to grease the pans first so the parchment stays flat.
Ensure your butter and egg are at room temperature for a smoother dough.
In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy.
Mix in egg yolks and vanilla and almond extract into the sugar mixture.
Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Slowly add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until incorporated and a dough forms.
Place dough into your cookie press. I like to use a little bit of cookie batter at a time so that you can change your decorative discs.
Hold your cookie press perpendicular to the cookie sheet and press the spritz cookie dough onto your prepared baking sheet.
Add your sprinkles.
Continue with all of the dough in various shapes and different designs.
Your cookies will need a baking time of about 10 minutes or until they are a light golden brown.
Cool your cookies on a wire rack.
Store cookies in an airtight container.
Relevant Recipes
Tips For Making Spritz Cookie Recipe for a Cookie Press
- Ensure that your butter is softened at room temperature. Soft butter ensures a smoother and more easily pressed cookie dough.
- Cookie presses come with various discs or tips for shaping the cookies. Choose the one that appeals to you, and make sure it’s securely attached to the press.
- If the dough becomes too warm while you’re working, it can affect the consistency and make it challenging to press. Pop the dough back in the refrigerator if needed.
- Make sure your cookie press is clean and free from any leftover dough before starting a new batch. This ensures consistent shapes.
- Press the cookies onto parchment paper-lined or an ungreased baking sheet. Greased sheets may cause the cookies to spread too much.
- Hold the cookie press perpendicular to the baking sheet and press down firmly. Lift straight up to avoid distorting the shape.
- Leave enough space between cookies on the sheet to allow for slight spreading during baking.
- If the dough is too soft and the cookies don’t hold their shape, add a bit more flour. If it’s too stiff and hard to press, add a small amount of liquid.
- If baking multiple sheets, rotate them halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Baked cookies firm up as they cool.
- Experiment with your festive cookies with creative variations. Add a burst of freshness with lemon extract or lemon zest, use a teaspoon rum extract or chopped almonds for a nutty twist, or infuse warmth with ground spices like a teaspoon ground nutmeg and a teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Do You Decorate Spritz Cookies Before Baking?
It’s a common practice to decorate spritz cookies both before and after baking, depending on the desired effect. Before baking, you can add decorative elements such as colored sugar, sprinkles, or nonpareils to the cookies. This allows the decorations to adhere to the dough during baking, creating a festive appearance.
After baking, you can add icing or additional decorations. Royal icing, colored icing, or melted chocolate can be applied to the cooled cookies to create intricate designs, patterns, or personalized touches.
How to Decorate Spritz Cookies
Decorating spritz cookies is a fun and creative process that adds the perfect finishing touch to these delightful treats. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to decorate spritz cookies after baking.
Ingredients and Tools:
- Royal Icing: Prepare a batch of royal icing in various colors.
- Sprinkles, Nonpareils, or Colored Sugar: For added texture and visual appeal.
- Piping Bags and Tips: Use small round tips for detailed designs.
- Prepare your royal icing. Divide the royal icing into separate bowls and add gel food coloring to achieve your desired colors. Adjust the consistency of the icing by adding water for flooding and a stiffer consistency for outlining.
- Transfer the royal icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
- Before the icing sets, sprinkle your cookies with colored sugar, nonpareils, or any other decorative elements you prefer.
- Allow your decorated spritz cookies to dry completely before stacking or packaging. This usually takes a few hours or overnight.
What kind of icing for spritz cookies?
Royal icing is a popular and traditional choice for decorating spritz cookies. It’s versatile, dries to a smooth and firm finish, and can be easily colored for various designs.
How to Make Spritz Cookies Without A Cookie Press
No cookie press? No problem! You can make classic butter spritz cookies by either using a pastry bag with a star tip or rolling small portions of dough into balls and flattening them with the bottom of a glass.
*This recipe contains affiliate links. See my privacy policy for more information.
italian butter cookies recipe
Check out my classic Italian Butter Cookie Recipe! Made in a cookie gun, this simple and buttery recipe is the perfect Christmas treat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Note: Use the empty butter wrappers to grease the pans first so the parchment stays flat.
- Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Mix in egg yolks and vanilla and almond extract.
- Don't forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Slowly add in the flour and salt and mix until incorporated.
- Put some of your dough into your cookie press. I like to use a little bit of dough at a time so that you can change your decorative discs.
- Hold your cookie press perpendicular to the baking sheet and press the cookies onto your baking sheet.
- Add your sprinkles.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies become slightly golden
Notes
How to use a cookie press
Put some of your dough into your cookie press. I like to use a little bit of dough at a time so that you can change your decorative discs.
You could even change the color of the dough with some red or green food coloring. Just pinch off some dough and in a separate bowl mix in the coloring.
Hold your cookie press perpendicular to the baking sheet and press the cookies onto your baking sheet.
How to Store Cookies
Place cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. If you decide to use
The cookies can also be frozen for up to three months if needed - just wrap them in parchment paper or wax paper before freezing.
How to Make Butter Cookies Without A Cookie Press
If you do not want to purchase a cookie press, you can use piping bags to pipe your cookies using an open star pastry tip or other type of piping tip.
Mmm!! Butter cookies are one of my favorite indulgences around the holidays!! They are so melt in your mouth delicious! My son and I will have to make some this year!
Aaah, these look and sound DELICIOUS ???????????? now I really want to bake! Guess that’s my plans for this evening sorted!
Oh these sound so good! It is amazing how a cookie press can make such a difference! Also nothing beats the old style cookie presses that are hard to find now-a-days
These cookies would be a great addition to our holiday tradition of making and decorating cookies on Christmas Eve! Your daughter looks like she had fun making them!
I am all over getting cookies! This time of year I know I gain weight because of all the sweet stuff. It’s worth it because in January I start dieting again and that I will be able to look back at the yummy stuff I ate over the holidays LOL. I can’t wait to try these cookies.
There is no cookie better for an occasion than butter cookies. Keep your chocolate chips and your peanut butter. Give me butter cookies!
I adore butter cookies! I’m not sure if I’ve ever had Italian butter cookies, but if I haven’t, I will soon! Om nom nom.
Those cookies look amazing and so delicately delicious. I am not Italian but these cookies make me want those great recipes. I wish I could bake something like this.
Those cookies look so good! They are exactly the kind I want to make with my kids.
These kinds of cookies are always a favorite at the holidays. I make them every year too. Making cookies is something that gets passed down
I LOVE Christmas cookies and so do the kids. I really enjoy making them too. These butter cookies are adorable and just the right size. Thanks for the recipe!
I love butter cookies. They are a family favorite. I love that you bake them with your daughter. What a fantastic tradition.
I’m always on the lookout for new cookie recipes to try for the holidays and this one looks like a perfect one to bookmark. I’ve tasted Italian Butter Cookies before but never had a good recipe to follow. Now I can make some myself!
I love these kinds of cookies. I have never tried making them before though. I’m going to save this so I can make them soon.
Oh yum! I can’t wait to make some Christmas cookies this year. These would be perfect!
Oh my goodness! These lovely cookies are pulling on my heart strings! My mother always made spritz cookies during the holidays and they looked exactly like your cookies. I’m flooded with heartfelt memories right now. 😉
Those look buttery and delicious …. I’ll have to add this to our Christmas baking list.
These are the kinds of recipes that make your holidays complete. And having the little helpers doesn’t hurt either! I love these memories – all made perfect with cookies!
That looks delicious! Such a great treat for the holidays!
Wow you just reminded me of a childhood memory my Mom made these every year for us until I was 12.
I love a great butter cookie recipe. I am going to have to give these a try for the Holidays, they look really yummy.
These cookies look so good! I’ve never heard of the Italian butter ones but I so want to try them.
These look so yummy! What a great recipe to follow with my little cooking helper! She would love to be in charge of the sprinkles too!
These Italian Butter Cookies look like they would melt in your mouth! They would go perfectly with a nice cup of Folgers coffee!
How great is it that you found and get to use your grandmother’s cookie press. We do a lot of baking over the holidays. I will have to add these cookies to the list.
I’ve always loved making cookies with mom during the holidays. She would make a ton of goodies to give out to family and friends. Seeing these pictures of you and your girls making these delicious butter cookies brings back such memories.
Awe such a great post! Reminds me of when I was in the kitchen with my mom as a kid. We always had butter cookies at Christmas.
So yummy! Your daughter looks like she’s having a blast making cookies and I bet they go great with that Foldgers coffee!
These look and sound amazingly delicious! My Grandfather used to have these during the Holidays and I miss them so much.
I don’t believe I ever had Italian butter cookies before. However, it looks and sounds pretty amazing!
Those cookies look scrumptious and that time with your lil one baking is so precious. I loved helping out my mum making Diwali sweets. I hope to do the same with my son once he is older.
Those look so good. I’d even buy a cookies press for them.
Italian + Butter + Cookies = YUM! This Italian family will LOVE making these for the holidays! What a fun tradition to start with my daughters.
Thank you for sharing your family recipe! We always buy those cheap little butter cookies in the holiday tins, but this year I will make yours! Thanks!!!
These look quite good. I am a big fan of butter cookies. These remind me quite a bit of Spritz cookies. Perhaps this is the Italian version.
I also recently found my cookie press that I haven’t used in years. Thank you for sharing this recipe, perfect timing for making holiday treats and surprising my children and grandchildren.
They look delicious, Reesa! I love the vintage cookie press!
Yum! I always have a tin of butter cookies on hand, but I believe they are Danish. I don’t think I have ever had Italian butter cookies before, but they sound delicious! I am definitely going to have to make some soon, thanks for sharing! 🙂
I grew up in an Italian family. Cooking around the holidays was a huge treat for us. We took pride in our cooking! My grandma used to make Butter Cookies like these. Awesome and pin worthy!! Thank you for sharing!
I love hearing this!!