Spritz Cookie Recipe Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
(HINT: use butter, they sure taste better even if there are a few more calories. Holy Cow! You're eating a cookie, not a piece of celery. Forget the diet for once!)
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 -1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Decorations (suggestions below)
Spritz Cookies Recipe Directions
In a large bowl and electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until nice and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to the butter mixture, blending thoroughly.
Place dough in a cookie press fitted with a design plate, packing cookie dough in firmly and evenly. Force the spritz cookie dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. If your kitchen is very warm and your dough is soft and sticky, then refrigerate until firm enough to press easily. Decorate Spritz cookies as desired.
Bake cookies in a 355 degrees oven for 12 to 17 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to racks and let cool completely. Store Spritz cookies in airtight containers.
Spritz cookie recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Spritz Cookies Decorations:
Before baking, top cookies with halved candied cherries; or sprinkle with finely chopped nuts, colored sugar or chocolate sprinkles. Or brush baked cookies with this chocolate glaze; in top of a double boiler over simmering hot water, melt together 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate and 1/2 tsp. solid vegetable shortening. Apply with a pastry brush. Refrigerate glazed Spritz cookies for 10 minutes to harden chocolate glaze.