The Best Spritz Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Combine butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, mixing for about 15 seconds after each yolk. Add cream cheese and mix until well combined. Mix in nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt; beat until completely mixed. Add flour and stir just until incorporated.
• Fill a cookie press with dough and press out cookies, using your favorite shape, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Steps:

• Thirty minutes or longer before baking, set an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
• Spread the almonds evenly on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes, or until pale gold. Stir once or twice to ensure even toasting and avoid over-browning. Cool completely.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt.
• Food processor method: In a food processor, process the almonds and sugar until fairly fine. Cut the butter into several pieces and add it with the motor running. Process until smooth and creamy. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and process until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and pulse in just until blended. Stand Mixer Method: Use a nut grater to grate the almonds powder fine and then whisk them into the flour mixture. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, on medium speed, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat for 30 seconds, or until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
• Scrape the mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and use the outside of the plastic wrap to knead together the dough until it is completely even and soft enough to pipe smoothly.
• Scoop the dough into the pastry bag (or spoon some of the dough into the cookie press and cover the remaining dough). Pipe 7 rosettes or 14 stars about 13⁄4 inches in diameter onto the cookie sheet, no less than 1 inch apart.
• To get the best possible shape for the rosettes, use your fingers to smooth the ends of the rosettes after piping. For the stars, hold the bag in a vertical position (straight up and down) with the toothed edge of the tube just slightly above the cookie sheet. Squeeze the bag firmly without moving it until the shape is as wide as desired, just at the point when the lines in the dough are on the verge of curving. Stop squeezing the tube and push the tube down slightly. Lift the tube straight up and away. Decorate with the glacéed cherries set in the centers, and/or top with sugar sprinkles or dragées.
• Bake for 5 minutes. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheet halfway around. Continue baking for 5 to 7 minutes, or until pale gold.
• Set the cookie sheet on a wire rack and use a pancake turner to lift the cookies onto another wire rack. Cool completely.
• While each batch of cookies is baking, shape the dough for the next batch. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 month, or refrigerated or frozen for 6 months.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Using a cookie press fitted with the disk of your choice, press dough 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325° until set, 11-12 minutes (do not brown). Remove to wire racks to cool., Place confectioners' sugar in a small bowl; stir in enough water to reach desired consistency. Working with 1 cookie at a time, brush glaze on the surface and sprinkle with sugar. Let stand until set.