Gingerbread Spritz Cookies

Gingerbread spritz are last minute holiday heroes

As the holiday season progresses and time gets tight, the cookie press makes its annual appearance in our kitchen. Gingerbread spritz cookies are so fast and easy to make it almost feels like cheating. And talk about volume ~ this recipe makes 100+!

And while some spritz cookies can be a little bland, this gingerbread recipe is nice and zesty with great holiday flavor, just like my original cardamom spritz cookies from last year. In fact, when you compare them to the red and green be-sprinkled spritz, these glazed spiced cookies skew definitely more adult.

What are spritz (Spritzgebäck) cookies?

• Spritz cookies are crisp little butter cookies that are a Christmas tradition in Germany and Scandinavian countries.
• Spritz cookie dough has a soft consistency and is stamped out through a cookie press into fancy shapes, making them super quick and easy. You can stamp out a baking sheet of cookies in no time.
• The name Spritz comes from the German ‘spritzen’, which means to squirt, and it refers to the way the cookie dough is squeezed through the disks in the cookie press.

You’ll need a cookie press to make these gingerbread spritz cookies

Maybe your mom had one, maybe you have one stuffed in the back of a cupboard, they’ve been around for generations. Mine is from OXO and it works great. It’s one of those tools you’ll probably only pull out once a year, but you’ll be glad you have it.

gingerbread spritz are small in size but mighty in flavor

These cookies have a simple charm, they’re not fancy or complicated, and one bite tells you all you need to know about why they’ve became almost synonymous with Christmas. It must have something to do with their diminutive size, their festive shapes and buttery flavor, but probably most of all, how darned easy they are to bang out.

Troubleshooting tips for spritz cookie making

Spritz cookies are known for being quick and easy, but can sometimes be tricky. This is because the dough has to be a specific consistency to flow through the small holes of the cookie press, and then hold its shape as it bakes so the pretty designs don’t melt away in the oven. It’s a little bit of a balancing act, so here are some things to keep in mind…

• My number one tip is to use a recipe specifically formulated for spritz because it needs to have a specific consistency to be ‘spritz-able’ and not spread in the oven. Don’t try to revamp an existing cookie recipe for your cookie press, that’s asking for trouble!
• The consistency of spritz dough should be soft like play dough. You can adjust by adding a tiny amount of milk.
• Use unlined, un-greased, cold cookie sheets. I like to put mine in the freezer for a few minutes. This is so that the cookie dough adheres to the surface for easy stamping.
• You can place your gingerbread spritz cookies close together on a cookie sheet because there is little to no spreading when they bake.
• Test a cookie or two first. If you have trouble with the cookies spreading, pop the cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before putting them in the oven.

The glaze makes these spritz cookies extra special

The glaze can be brushed on with a silicone baking brush, or the cookies can be dunked, head first, into the glaze, which is what I do. It will settle in the nooks and crannies of the cookies and add a welcome hit of sweetness with every gingery bite.

The glaze will dry in about 30 minutes or so, so your gingerbread spritz cookies can be stacked or bagged for serving or giving. If you like, you can add sprinkles or colored sugars to the glaze while it’s still wet. Note: tiny sprinkles like nonpareils work best on these small cookies.

Reader’s Tip:

As a ‘do ahead’ trick during the holidays, I mix up the spritz dough, press the cookies onto cookie sheets, then freeze them solid. Once frozen, I put the unbaked cookies into a ziploc bag. When I need the cookies, I put the frozen unbaked cookies on a cookie sheet (can be placed fairly close together because they don’t spread much), then bake. Because they are frozen, it might take an extra minute or two.” ~AMY

More Christmas cookies to make on repeat

• Starry Night Gingerbread Cookies
• Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
• Soft Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Pfeffernusse Cookies
• Russian Tea Cakes
• Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies

Glazed Gingerbread Spritz Cookies

5 from 8 votes

Glazed Gingerbread Spritz Cookies are fun to make with a lovely old world flavor. They're tiny in size, but bursting with Christmas spirit!

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Prep Time:10 minutes minutes

Cook Time:5 minutes minutes

Total Time:15 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 dozen

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Equipment

• spritz cookie press

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

dry ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt

wet ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup molasses, (do not use blackstrap)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature

glaze

• 2 cups sifted confectioner's powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp + 2 teaspoons warm water

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F
• Whisk the dry ingredients together to blend well.
  
• Cream the butter and sugar until well combined. (I do this in a stand mixer, but you can use hand held beaters.) Add the vanilla, molasses, and egg, and beat until nice and smooth.
• With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients and beat until thoroughly incporporated. You can finish mixing by hand, and don't forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to get anything stuck there.
  
• Cover the dough surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Generally you want spritz dough to be firm enough to hold its shape but soft enough to stamp out easily. In this case the addition of molasses makes the dough extra sticky, so you may need some chilling time. You'll need to do a test cookie or two (or three!) before you get it right.
• Press your cookies onto cold, ungreased cookie sheets, following the instructions that came with your model. Space them close together since they don't rise or spread. Bake for 5-6 minutes (mine cooked in 5 minutes.) Let them cool on the pan for a couple of minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. They'll be a little soft at first, but will firm up as they cool.
  
• Stir the glaze ingredients together until smooth and glossy. You may need to thin it slightly, so have some warm water handy.
  
• Dip each cookie, face down, into the glaze just until the whole surface makes contact, then lift straight up and let the excess glaze drip off before flipping over and setting back on the rack to dry. If the glaze seems too thick, stir in a very small amount of warm water, and if your glaze seems too thin, add a small amount of sifted powdered sugar.
  
• Let the icing fully dry before moving or stacking the cookies.
  

Notes

 

• My number one tip is to use a recipe specifically formulated for spritz because it needs to have a specific consistency to be ‘spritz-able’ and not spread in the oven. Don’t try to revamp an existing cookie recipe for your cookie press, that’s asking for trouble!
• The consistency of spritz dough should be soft like play dough. You can adjust by adding a tiny amount of milk.
• Use unlined, un-greased, cold cookie sheets. I like to put mine in the freezer for a few minutes. This is so that the cookie dough adheres to the surface for easy stamping.
• You can place your spritzed cookies close together on a cookie sheet because there is little to no spreading when they bake.
• Test a cookie or two first. If you have trouble with the cookies spreading, pop the cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before putting them in the oven.
• Cookie presses vary, so your chilling time, baking time, and yield may also vary.

*recipe adapted from the OXO Test Kitchen

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: baking, Christmas, Christmas cookies, cookies, dessert, gingerbread

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cookie · Calories: 52 kcal · Carbohydrates: 8 g · Protein: 0.5 g · Fat: 2 g · Saturated Fat: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g · Trans Fat: 0.1 g · Cholesterol: 8 mg · Sodium: 8 mg · Potassium: 32 mg · Fiber: 0.1 g · Sugar: 5 g · Vitamin A: 69 IU · Vitamin C: 0.002 mg · Calcium: 6 mg · Iron: 0.3 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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