Molasses Ginger Spiced Spritz Cookies

The familiar flavours of Christmas are all tied up in these Molasses Ginger Spiced Spritz Cookies. Prepared with molasses, brown sugar, and a blend of warm and comforting spices, this cookie is slightly sweet and buttery. Awake all of your senses with these cozy cookies that smell just like home!

We all know that spritz cookies are one of the most popular and long-standing types of Christmas cookies. I’m in my 40s and I can remember them from when I was a kid. Although I have to say, I think the spritz cookie press has come a long way since the one that could be found in my mother’s 1970s kitchen drawer! Thankfully too, because these Molasses Ginger Spiced Spritz Cookies need to be perfect to match their perfect taste!

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 flowers, hearts, stars, and 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.

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into this brand-new series, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Donuts and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Appetizers. And now, I’m starting out on this new series, which is the sixth annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the sixth year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 6! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family. 

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature.
• Brown Sugar
• Eggs – 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.
• Molasses – When baking, the best molasses is fancy molasses.  Stay away from dark or blackstrap molasses unless instructed otherwise.  Fancy molasses is a light molasses. 
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Spices – You will need ground ginger and pumpkin spice mix.

HOW TO MAKE MOLASSES GINGER SPICED SPRITZ COOKIES

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with a silicone baking mat. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and the sugar until well combined – about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat into the butter and sugar mixture until completely incorporated. Add the flour and spices. Beat in until just combined.

Load the cookie dough into a cookie press which has been fitted with a disc of your choosing. Press the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1 inch of space between each cookie. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

Please note, I dusted half of the fully cooled cookies with some confectioner’s sugar. It’s completely optional, but I love the contrast between the plain and the dusted cookies on the plate.

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!

MAKING THE BEST SPRITZ COOKIES

There are a couple of tips that I want to share with you to ensure you have the best spritz cookie experience. First and foremost, please be absolutely sure that your butter, egg, and even the vanilla extract are 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 the pan, the right lining is needed.

You have two choices. First, you can do it right onto the pan. However, 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 to, and they provide a great layer of heat protection between the baking sheet and the bottom of the cookie itself. Perfection every time!

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 Molasses Ginger Spiced Spritz Cookies, you certainly can! Once the chocolate has hardened, 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 on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. If packaging, wait until the condensation has evaporated. 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 below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box 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 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!