Chocolate Dipped Spritz Cookies
The Oh-so-Cute (and Delicious) Spritz Cookie
If you’re a beginner holiday baker, these spritz cookies are great for a first-time cookie platter. They’re so easy to make and you can make all sorts of cute shapes with these cookies! Make it stand outWhatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
What Are Spritz Cookies?
A spritz cookie is a simple butter cookie, which means there aren’t any exotic or surprising ingredients in this cookie recipe. The spritz part is what makes these special. The word is German in origin and it means to spray or squirt-which is what you do with the cookie press (also known as a cookie gun to some bakers). The cookie press looks like a caulking gun, but you fill it with cookie dough instead of sealing compound. You use the press to squeeze out dough into pretty shapes that you can decorate when they’re cool.
Tips for Using a Cookie Press
When you’re using a cookie press, make sure the spritz cookie dough is room temperature when you load the press. At room temperature, the cookie dough is more pliable when you push it through the press. To keep your cookies from spreading, chill your baking sheet in the freezer before pressing your cookies.
Decorating Spritz Cookies—Tips and Tricks
You see a lot of spritz cookies around the holidays because they’re so cute and so easy to decorate.
To decorate before pressing:
You can decorate them by coloring the dough with a gel food coloring before loading it into the cookie press.
To decorate after pressing:
After they’re pressed and before they’re baked, you can sprinkle spritz cookies with jimmies or colored sugar, plain sanding sugar or dust them with powdered sugar to make it look like snow for a festive touch.
To decorate after baking:
After the spritz cookies are baked and cooled, you can dip them in chocolate as I did with this recipe, or you can use different colored candy melts. Additionally, you can sprinkle the dipped cookies with nuts or nonpareils while the candy or chocolate is still warm.
Anyway you decide to shape or decorate your spritz, they’ll be a festive addition to your holiday cookie platter!
Chocolate-Dipped Spritz Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 12 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- Nonpareils (optional)
- Raspberry jam of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, extract, and heavy cream. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. With mixer on low, gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture until incorporated.
- Using a cookie press fitted with the disc of your choice, press dough 2 inches apart onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until set but not brown. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl placed over a pot of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat. When slightly cooled but still liquid, dip a half of each cookie into the chocolate, letting excess drip off. Sprinkle chocolate end with nonpareils, if using. Dry cookies on wax paper. When cool, store in an airtight container.
- Raspberry variation: Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on the flat side of half of the cookies. Put another spritz cookie on top then dip one end in the melted chocolate. Set cookies on wax paper to set, then store in an airtight container.
