My Spritz Dainties for Cookie Press

Spritz cookies are a Scandinavian Christmas tradition pressed into wreaths, stars, and rosettes through a cookie press. This version swaps out the usual white sugar for brown sugar, which gives the finished cookies a faint caramel-butterscotch backbone that pairs beautifully with butter and vanilla. The egg yolk does double duty, enriching the dough and binding it tight enough to hold a sharp pattern through the press.

The egg white brush before baking is what catches the sprinkles and gives the surface a faint pearlescent sheen once baked. Skip it and your decorations will roll right off as the cookies cool. Press the dough onto an ungreased, fully cooled cookie sheet. Warm or buttered pans cause the dough to slide instead of stick, and the press will leak smudges instead of laying down clean shapes.

Pro Tips

• Soften the butter to a cool room temperature, not melted. Greasy butter ruins the dough’s ability to hold a pressed shape.
• Skip baking soda in trace amounts? Don’t. That eighth of a teaspoon does help the cookies puff slightly and keeps the texture tender.
• Sift the flour. Cookie press dough is fussy about lumps and unsifted flour will jam the press.
• Decorate before baking, not after. Sprinkles need a tacky surface to stick. The egg white wash is the glue.

Variations

• Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract in place of half the vanilla for a more traditional Scandinavian flavor.
• Dip cooled cookies halfway in melted chocolate and dust with chopped pistachios.
• Stir a tablespoon of cocoa powder into half the dough for two-tone holiday cookies.