Spritz Cookies: The Best Christmas Cookies
By; Evania Garlinghouse
Photo courtesy: Betty Crocker
Christmastime is coming. The campus has been gussied up for some time now; there are Christmas lights everywhere and a huge tree in the middle of campus. Everywhere on campus, the Christmas spirit is almost tangible. Students are packing their bags and checking out of housing to go and spend the break with family and friends. When they go home, there will be many Christmas traditions for them to take part in. One Christmas tradition that is usually evident in every home is the tradition of baking Christmas cookies. But what is the best Christmas cookie?
I think the best Christmas cookies are the ones my family makes. My mother makes them with us, as her mother used to make them with her. Her mother has passed on, but she is still with us during Christmas time through this tradition. What are the cookies my family makes, and the best Christmas cookies of all time? Spritz cookies.
Spritz cookies are not very common; you don't see them in bakeries or stores. They come from an older tradition. Spritz cookies come in all different shapes; they can be shaped like snowflakes, poinsettias, ornaments, Christmas trees, you name it. They decorate a cookie plate beautifully.
You can dye them any color you want, and flavor them whatever flavor you want. In my family, we have very creative flavor choices. We usually have coconut flavored snowflakes, or pina colada-flavored yellow ornaments. There are also more standard choices, like peppermint flavored poinsettia cookies or almond flavored Christmas trees.
The house fills with the smell of cookies as we bake and decorate them. We put sugar sprinkles on them, as well as chocolate chips and hot candies. Some of the sprinkles are star shaped, and perfect for topping the Christmas tree cookies.
Spritz cookies are similar in texture to short bread cookies. They can be very flavorful and there are so many different shapes and decorations you can try. If you'd like to try your hand at the best Christmas cookies ever, the recipe is below.
Spritz Christmas cookies
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1egg
1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla
Food coloring, if desired
Steps:
Mix ingredients together, preheat oven to 400°
Put dough in the cookie press and onto the cookie tray
Cook for 5-8 minutes
Enjoy the best Christmas cookies ever!