Egg is an optional ingredient in this spritz cookie recipe. Dough for spritz or butter cookies relies on eggs for a significant amount of moisture. As a toughener, eggs also add structure. Without them, spritz cookies tend to spread easily and ultimately lose their shape when they are baked.
To accommodate this shortcoming, this recipe calls for rolling out cookie dough instead of piping it through a pastry tip or cookie press. By the way, spritz comes from the German word spritzen meaning to squirt or spray.
In the second spritz cookie recipe, you should use either 1 large egg or 2 large egg yolks to produce a cookie dough that has enough body and structure for piping.
Cornstarch, in this recipe, reduces the protein concentration in flour, just enough to make your butter cookies tender without excessive spreading.
You may decide that you would prefer yet another spritz cookie recipe. This one produces a soft and pliable dough that is excellent for piping.
Helpful Tip: Pipe or press cookie dough onto cool baking sheets. When lining cookie sheets with parchment paper, smear a tiny bit of butter at each corner of the paper to anchor it.
Colored sugar crystals, candied cherries to garnish
Beat softened butter with sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth and creamy, but not fluffy. Then add the flour and mix until just incorporated.
Form dough into a log, approximately 12" x 2". Then wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. You can also keep this dough frozen for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
With a sharp knife, cut the cold dough log into slices, approximately ¼-inch thick. Place butter cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Adorn each cookie with your favorite garnish.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown.
Allow butter cookies to firm up in their baking pan for 1 minute before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely. This spritz cookie recipe makes about 2 or 3 dozen butter cookies depending on their sizes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and set them aside.
Cream softened butter with sugar thoroughly before adding egg and vanilla extract. Continue creaming until the mixture is fluffy.
Carefully blend in the flour mixture.
Pack dough into a cookie press fitted with a decorative plate. Press dough onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
Bake for 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned.
Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. If your butter cookies have small shapes, you can probably make about 5 dozens from this spritz cookie recipe.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream softened butter and sugar until fluffy, then add egg and vanilla extract. Continue mixing until well blended.
Gently stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Don’t over-mix the dough or it will be difficult to squeeze from a pastry bag.
Fill a pastry bag with a large star tip with cookie dough. Pipe cookies onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
Bake for about 10 – 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. This spritz cookie recipe makes about 3 dozen delicious butter cookies.
1 Medrich, Alice. "Cookies and Brownies." First Edition. Warner Book, Inc. 1999.
2 Chesman, Angrea & Raboff, Fran. "Mom’s Best Desserts – 100 Classic Treats That Taste As Good Now As They Did Then." Second edition. Storey Publishing. 2002.
3 Sanchez, Maria Bruscino. "Sweet Maria’s Cookie Jar." First edition. St. Martin’s Press. October 2002.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown.
Bake for 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned.
