Maple Spice Spritz Cookies
One of my all time favorite cookies at Christmas is the spritz cookie. My Aunt always brings a giant bucket of these addicting little cookies for Christmas Eve and I snack on them all night long. I decided to change them up a little so I can eat them starting in September!
A few tips and tricks for making spritz cookies are as follows... things I wish I would have known before starting, but trial and error and a couple batches of cookies later, I think I have the Spritz mastered. First, you need a Sprtiz Cookie Press Gun. This is the one I use, but there are many to choose from! Second, the consistency of the dough should be like soft playdoh. My first batch was waaay to runny and included baking powder, this caused them to spread and not hold their pretty shape. Third, use two cookie sheets and rotate them out of the fridge. Always apply your dough to a cold sheet. While one cookie sheet is baking, let the other cool slightly, then stick it in the refridgerator for more cooling. And never use parchment or grease. You want the dough to stick to the sheet when forming the cookies, otherwise you have a mess with your spritz cookie press. Fourth, do not refridgerate your dough inbetween baking times. You need the dough to be pliable, and refridgerating makes the dough too hard. And Finally, adjust baking times accordingly. The bottoms of the cookies should be a LIGHT golden brown, anything darker, drop your baking time by a minute. Now let's get baking!
1 Cup Butter, softened
2/3 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Maple Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
2 1/4 Cups Flour
Food Coloring (optional)
Cinnamon and Sugar for Sprinkling
1. Preheat oven to 400° and place cookie sheets in refridgerator to cool.
2. Beat butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy. Add egg, maple and vanilla extracts, salt, and pumpkin spice, beating until well incorporated. Gradually add flour, mixing on low. Once the dough is an even "playdoh" consistency, you may divide dough and add food coloring as you wish. I divided mine into three, adding pink and orange to two portions.
3. Load your Spritz Cookie Press with your dough, choosing the pattern you want. The first cookie out of the gun is usually a little sloppy. Work fast to sqeeze out the dough to create even cookie shapes. I space mine fairly close because they hold their shape nicely. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
4. Bake for 6-8 minutes. They should be a light golden brown on the bottom. Anything darker, lower baking time. Remove cookies from sheet immediately. Let pan cool slightly and then place back in fridge for further cooling before applying another row of cookies.
5. Enjoy and Share!
