Almond Spritz Cookies

By Melissa Clark

Published Dec. 8, 2021

Almond Spritz Cookies
Anna Williams for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen.
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(1,180)
Comments
Read comments

A holiday classic found in nearly every cookie box, these almond-flavored treats are buttery, crisp and all too easy to eat by the handful (fear not, this recipe makes a lot). Spritz cookies also keep well, for up to two weeks stored in an airtight container at room temperature. If you don’t have a spritz gun, you can use a pastry bag to form them. Or, for more rustic versions, skip the pressing altogether. Chill the dough for an hour, then roll out 1-inch balls, placing them 1 ½ inches apart on the baking sheets, then use a fork to flatten them. A sprinkle of colored sugar makes everything pretty.

Featured in: 24 Days of Cookies

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 dozen cookies
  • 1cup/225 grams unsalted butter, preferably cultured, softened
  • ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
  • 1large egg, at room temperature
  • ¾teaspoon almond extract
  • ½teaspoon fine sea or table salt
  • 2cups/250 grams all-purpose flour
  • ¼cup/25 grams almond flour or meal
  • Decorative sugar or festive sprinkles, for finishing
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (48 servings)

70 calories; 4 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 26 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add the egg and almond extract, and mix until well-combined and smooth.

  2. Step 2

    With speed still on low, gradually add both flours and the salt until just incorporated.

  3. Step 3

    Fill a cookie press with dough, or use a piping bag fitted with a decorative piping tip with a large opening (about ½-inch). Press or pipe the dough onto ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between cookies. Sprinkle cookies with decorative sugar or sprinkles.

  4. Step 4

    Bake until firm to the touch and golden brown at edges, 12 to 17 minutes. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool slightly, then use a spatula to remove cookies from the baking sheets when they’re still warm (which is easier to do than when they’ve cooled completely).

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,180 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Patricia Osten

Thank you for the tip about forming without press or piping tool!! I love spritz cookies but have become very disabled and have no strength in my hands so have not attempted Spritz cookies for several years. So, I'm eager to try this recipe technique!!!

kate90

FWIW, over the years I've found that the key to getting cookies to separate from the cookie press is to hold the extruded dough against the cookie sheet for just a few seconds before lifting the press straight up. It seems to make the cookie adhere enough to the sheet to cleanly separate from the press. This was always my biggest problem with spritz, which I love. Also I use thermal cookie sheets and parchment paper. Just an FYI.

vmutino

I used a little less than a tsp of kosher salt instead of the table salt. They came out amazing - not too sweet, the salt added a little crunch, and absolutely addictive. Thanks, Melissa Clark!

Julia Rasmussen

For those of you who found the cookies to be dry, I recommend weighing the dry ingredients. Also doubled the almond extract.

Rosemeryl

Best spritz

The dude abides

These perform really well. The 10 year old boy prepped the dough and we sampled and decided to add a bit more almond and vanilla extract. Cookies lasted at most 4 days.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.