My mom has been making this recipe around Christmastime for as long as I can remember and it’s always been a favorite for our family, both to make and to eat! It’s a recipe that’s near-and-dear to our hearts as it was passed down to my mom from her grandmother. Spritz cookies are pretty common / accessible (especially in Europe where half of my mother’s ancestry originates), but I can’t say that I have seen this version of the spritz cookie anywhere in the areas I’ve lived in or visited [domestically] so it feels “special” even if it’s an incredibly simple recipe (that even *I* can bake). They’re pretty addicting too, so just be warned!
The cookie press that I use at home is vintage (exactly like the 1940’s model that my mom uses and she sourced for me!), but I asked my sister-in-law to keep this [newer] model at her house for any holiday visits because the spritz cookies are a crowd favorite and my vintage press doesn’t travel well. This Fante’s cookie press is as close as I have found to the vintage Ateco model I have at home — I know you may be tempted to buy the trigger style cookie press, but it’s not useful for the design / style(?) that my family uses to make these cookies.
INGREDIENTS
1 egg
1 lb butter
(4x 4oz sticks)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
5 cups flour
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TOOLS
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INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Thoroughly beat the butter with a mixer. I find that cool butter is the best for this recipe — not rock hard right out of the fridge, but also not room temperature soft. This helps maintain the definition of the ridges from the cookie press shape. I left my sticks out on the counter for about ~30 min and cut them into little squares to make it a little easier on my mixer. After the butter has been beaten well, add in the sugar and cream together.
Pour in the egg and vanilla; beat again until well incorporated.
Add the flour in one cup at a time (on a low speed) and mix until all five cups have been added — it gets pretty tough by the fifth cup. I know that seems like a lot of flour, but stick with it!
*Note: there is no need to chill this dough before baking.
Twist the cookie press crank until it’s fully out of the tube and then screw off the lid with the crank part to fill your cookie press! Scoop roughly a ~cup of the dough and roll it into a rough cylinder that will fit into the tube of your cookie press. Add more dough this way until the cookie press is full.
Screw the lid back on and crank out your desired shapes onto a baking sheet (I prefer to line mine with parchment paper for easy cleanup, but it isn’t necessary). I create four rows on the sheet leaving roughly and 1.5 – 2 inches between rows. The cookies don’t expand very much as they bake, but this method leaves a good amount of space for the heat to access all sides of the cookie and avoids crowding.
*Note: There is no “correct” way to make the designs with your cookie press in this format. You can totally make all of your cookies uniform by creating straight lines across the sheet pan (and then maybe cut them on a bias to make them elegant!), but I prefer to make them whimsical and irregular with little folds in the ribbons which make for a yummy textural experience when eating them!
Bake for 8-10 min or until golden.
Remove from oven and cut as desired with a metal spatula while warm, then place cookies on a cooling rack.
I think that these cookies would be great to make with slightly older kiddos (maybe elementary school aged?) and they may need help using the cookie press.
You could even package these cookies up to give as gifts, to take to a cookie swap, or even just to bring to a party!
Merry holiday season and happy baking, friends!
Sending big hugs —
xx, Natalie