Spritz cookies

 

"Spritz cookies" a type of German and Alsatian Christmas biscuit or Christmas cookie made of flour, butter, sugar & eggs. These are very delicate, melt-in-mouth cookies  with crisp edges & having a rich, buttery flavor that'll make you craving for more.  These cookies are made by using a cookie press with different nozzles of your choice which squeezes out the shapes of the cookie. The most interesting part of these cookies is that you can decorate them in many ways, different shapes, sprinkles, cherries, coloured sugar etc.  

I was watching some videos of joy of baking site few days back when I came through this simple recipe. You can check the recipe there itself. I have adjusted the measurements according to my requirement.

They are just so perfect tea time cookie. So yummy & soft inside. Take one bite and you will not want to leave it. We all just loved it. Could not resist with one . PB & my girl gulped 3-4 at a time.

Try this at your home and see if I am wrong :)

If you have a cookie press then its perfect. You can make your desired shape with the different nozzles. I don't have one so I have applied my own technique. I have mentioned that below in the method section. You can do so  much to these cookies in terms of decorating them and so simple to prepare. They are perfect to gift your friends & family during festive seasons.

One thing I have noticed that it is always better to use unsalted butter when you are baking cookies. I have baked 3 batches of these cookies as of now and the batch I made with salted butter I did not like it much as the salty taste was so prominent. If unsalted butter is just not available at your pantry , then skip adding the salt  in the recipe. Butter should not be melted, only softened at room temperature. Whisk the butter first with the beater properly, this will help dissolving sugar into it and makes it fluffy.  You can use powdered sugar as well, but in the original recipe granulated sugar was only used. So did I.

Secondly you can use other essence as well, like butter scotch or vanilla only. But these cookies smells and tastes best with almond essence. I have used red & green cherries cut into half horizontally and pressed it in the middle of  the cookies. Sprinklers you can use of your choice but these silver ones looks great. I used coloured sugar also. You can buy them from stores or you can make them at home itself. I have made my own at home only.

Describing the method in a nutshell here:

Take the granulated sugar in a plastic bag/ or a container. Add few drops (try first with 1 or 2 drops)
of gel colour of your choice. Close the plastic bag or the lid in case of a container and mix them with your fingers (in case of plastic bag) till the time the colour mixes well with the sugar. If using in a container , then shake it until the colour mixes well with the sugar particles. Taa ..daaa ..ready to use.

Lets see how it has been made.

Spritz cookies

Preparation Time: 7-9 minutes
Baking Time: 17 minutes 30 seconds


Ingredients:

Plain flour: 1 & 1/2 cup
Egg: 2 egg yolks
Sugar: 1 cup (granulated)
Butter: 1/ 2 cup (softened at room temp)
Vanilla essence: 1/2 tsp
Almond essence: 1/2 tsp
Pinch of salt
Red & green cherries ,sprinkles , coloured sugar for decorating


Method:

Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.

Keep your baking tray ready by greasing it with oil/butter.

In a large bowl, take the butter and with the help of an electric beater whisk the butter until fluffy

Add the sugar, mix everything well till sugar dissolves.

Now add the egg yolks , then both the essence, beat well until everything combines well & fluffy.

In another bowl, sieve the flour , add the salt and mix.

Now add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients little by little & whisk with the beater until everything mixes well and you get a dough like consistency. Don't worry in case your dough comes out dry. You can always add little milk to it to get that perfect consistency.

with cookie press :
Insert portions of dough into the cookie press with your choice of nozzle and press out the cookies on the baking tray.

without cookie press:

If you don't have a cookie press, not to worry, you can do it my way. You can use your cookie cutter as well.

Take small portions of the dough, place on the greased tray. Flatten with your hand. Now with the help of fork make patterns, or use a toothpick or anything with a sharp front try to make patterns, like making a hole in the middle, cut the sides of the cookie etc.

Press half cut cherry in the middle. Add sprinkles, or coloured sugar.


Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes. Mine took exactly 17 minutes 30 seconds. Don't over bake. Take them out of the oven as and when you see their edges are turning slightly brown in colour.
Let them cool down for about 2-3 minutes in the try itself and after that transfer them to the wire rack to cool down completely. Store in air tight container. You can store them for a week .

Enjoy with your hot cup of tea/coffee with your loved ones.