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Spritz Cookies, also known as
Swedish Butter Cookies or Pressed Butter Cookies, are a very popular Christmas
cookie, not only in Scandinavia, but also here in North America. They have a
lovely vanilla flavor and a rich buttery texture that is tender crisp. As their
name implies, "Spritz" is German for "spritzen" meaning "to squirt", which is
exactly what is done with this cookie dough. By that I mean we make these
cookies using a cookie press (gun), a device that has a cylindrical barrel made
of clear plastic and stainless steel with an easy-to-squeeze trigger, that
"squirts" the soft dough through a decorative template giving us all sorts of
wonderful looking cookies. We can make wreaths, flowers, trees, rosettes, stars,
and stripes, to name a few. And while they are delicious plain, they look so
pretty when decorated with candied cherries, nuts, colored sprinkles or colored
sugars.
Spritz Cookies contain only
a few ingredients, butter, sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, and flour. Some
recipes include baking powder, but I find that the cookies maintain their
shape better without it. This cookie needs a good unsalted butter and
pure vanilla extract. I know that buying vanilla extract can be a
challenge since it is very expensive and there are so many choices. I will
admit that my first choice is
Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract that can be found
in specialty food stores and by mail order.
But there are other good choices that you can buy in regular grocery
stores. Just make sure that it is labeled "pure", and stay away from the
ones labeled "imitation" vanilla extracts as they are made with synthetic
vanilla (from glycoside found in the sapwood of certain conifers or from
coal extracts) and leave a bitter aftertaste.
When you mix the Spritz
dough it is simply a matter of creaming the butter with the sugar, beating
in the vanilla extract and egg, and then the flour. The dough needs to be
of the right consistency. You want it soft enough so it pushes easily
through the cookie press, but not so soft that the shape is not defined.
If you find it too soft, then refrigerate the dough for a while. Now, if
you do not own a cookie press, you can make these cookies using a pastry
bag fitted with an open star tip. I like to decorate the cookies with
pieces of candied cherries, nuts, colored sprinkles or colored sugars.
Bake the Spritz Cookies until the edges of the cookies are just tinged
with brown. These cookies can be stored about a week at room temperature
or they can be frozen. |
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