Cherry Spritz Cookies

A good spritz cookie should taste slightly sweet and buttery. The cookie should be slightly crumbly, but not dry, and it should feel like it’s melting in your mouth. Nothing is more Christmassy than Cherry Spritz Cookies! It’s a long-standing holiday favourite and this one screams cheerful with those brightly coloured candied cherries!

Spritz cookies have to be the most recognizable and the most loved holiday cookie. I know many people experience some difficulty with getting them just right, so I’ll address those issues in this post. You need the right recipe and the right technique. These Cherry Spritz Cookies are perfect for gift-giving, which is why you see them in stores packaged in cute little bags and tins at Christmastime. I think it’s best to make your own!

The great thing about spritz cookies is that you can flavour them easily enough by changing up the extract. You can colour them too if you want by adding a bit of food colouring to the dough. Topping a spritz cookie is probably one of the most fun things to do. If you have kids in your home, get them involved in this. Kids love to help decorate cookies! If you find yourself a good spritz cookie recipe, like this one, hang on to it and use it over and over again.

I absolutely love candied cherries, and even though I have already shared a few spritz cookie recipes in the past, I had to make this one a part of my 24 Cookies of Christmas countdown. And, the reason, Dear Reader, is simple – a holiday cookie platter without spritz cookies or candied cherries just won’t cut it in my house. So, here’s the sixth cookie on my Christmas baking list!

WHY ARE THEY CALLED SPRITZ COOKIES?

Sprizgeback is the German name for spritz cookies. Like the popular spritz cookie, the cookies are crisp, fragile, somewhat dry, and buttery.

The German verb spritzen means to squirt in English. These cookies are made by squirting (or pushing) the dough through a press that has been fitted with patterned holes. These holes create a resemblance to an object when baked, such as Christmas trees!

In North America, the name Spritzgeback is shortened to spritz. In Germany, the cookie is prepared when parents bake with their children. Traditionally, the recipes that are used are passed down to the children.

DON’T HAVE A COOKIE PRESS?

I’m afraid the only answer that I would feel 100% comfortable giving you would be the following: 1. You might want to consider a different cookie recipe. 2. Buy one!

Those responses might seem rather abrasive, which was not my intent, but I’d prefer to be completely honest rather than provide you with some DIY cookie spritzer that does not work and as a result, is a waste of your time and your ingredients.

The ONLY option is to roll out the cookies with a rolling pin and to use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes you want. The cookies will look nothing like the Cherry Spritz Cookies you see in the photographs, but they will taste the same.

RECOMMENDATION, NOT AN ENDORSEMENT

Kitchen gadgets are not something that I own much of, and they’re certainly not something that I promote here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen, but I’m going to make an excuse for the cookie press.  The reason for this is simple – I think most of us bakers already have one readily available, and if you don’t, I encourage you to purchase one, because it makes baking cookies so easy and so pretty!

As badly as I’ve wanted one, I’ve often thought that it would be something I’d use once and never use it again.  I’ve also thought that the images of pressed cookies looked top damn perfect, and was of the mind that there was no way a cookie press could get cookies to look that precise and uniform.  I was wrong.  I can’t speak for all cookie presses, but the brand that I have – Marcato – works brilliantly and I couldn’t wait to break it in!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE CHERRY SPRITZ COOKIES

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature! You can use unsalted butter, but these cookies most certainly taste better with salted butter.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  It is used in frostings quite often.  When dusted lightly onto cakes and cookies, it adds just a touch of sweetness, but more importantly, it looks very visually appealing!
• Egg – One large egg is all you need. Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!

• Vanilla Extract – Probably the most common extract and the most common flavouring used in cakes and cookies.
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the volume of the batter and to add texture as well.
• Candied Cherries – These are very popular in Christmas baking, especially in fruitcakes.  I buy the whole red and green candied cherries separately so that I can pick which colour I want to use.  If you buy them whole, you can chop them if you prefer smaller bits of cherry.

MAKING THE BEST SPRITZ COOKIES

There are a couple of tips that I want to share with you to ensure you have the best Cherry Spritz Cookies experience. First and foremost, please be absolutely sure that your butter, egg, and even the vanilla extract is at room temperature. This will make the dough soft and pliable so that you can squeeze it out of the spritz easily and perfectly.

Secondly, the cookie dough will need something to stick to – let me explain. When you spritz out the cookie dough, the spritzer is flush against the baking sheet. In order for the dough to come off of the spritzer and stick to pan, the right lining is needed.

You have two choices. First, you can do it right onto the pan. But, I have found that if I do not line my baking sheet first, then the cookies become too dark on the bottom. A sheet of parchment paper makes the job very frustrating. First, it moves around too easily. And, secondly, the dough doesn’t stick to it very well, meaning that when you lift the spritzer up, the dough usually comes with it.

The best results are achieved when using a silicone baking mat. Even when they are super clean, they still have a gel-like, almost sticky/gluey feel to them. It’s the perfect surface to stick the dough too, and they provide a great layer of heat protection between the baking sheet and the bottom of the cookie itself. Perfection every time!

CANDIED CHERRIES

In this particular recipe, I use about a cup of candied cherries in total. I opted to use half red and half green cherries. Obviously, you can use all red or all green if you choose. I love candied cherries and I love how the red and green colours just jump out and create a wonderful contrast to the butter-coloured cookie. They’re perfect for Christmas!

When I’m looking to use candied cherries, Paradise Fruit Company is my go-to source. They have the brightest, most plump, most perfectly round red and green cherries.  You can get all of their products online. Be sure to check out the website!

Just for a bit of trivia, let me just add this here. Candied cherries are basically maraschino cherries that have been processed in a thick, sugary syrup. They become intensely sweet and take on a chewy texture, which works very well in baked goods.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Cherry Spritz Cookies, you certainly can! Once they are completely cooled, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out onto a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 100 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!