Christmas spritz cookies is a long-standing tradition in many households during the holiday season! These classic spritz cookies are buttery and soft, made with cream cheese and formed into all kinds of shapes using a spritz cookie press.
If you love easy holiday baking ideas like Cranberry Bread and Gingerbread Cookies or Sugar Cookies, you need to try these easy spritz cookies. Cozy up with a warm blanket, a tray of cookies, a glass of milk, and enjoy.
These delicious cookies can be decorated with a simple glaze, sugar sprinkles, or holiday-themed sprinkles. Serve them to family and friends, bring them to cookie exchange parties, or gift them at Christmas time.
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Ingredients
- Butter - The butter should be at room temperature as this will help to incorporate it into the cookie dough mixture better. While I’ve used salted butter, you could use unsalted butter instead, but you’ll need to add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the cookie dough.
- Cream cheese - Ensure the cream cheese is softened at room temperature, making mixing it into the other ingredients easier. The cream cheese adds a tangy flavor and creaminess to these cookies.
- Sugar - I’ve used white sugar in these cream cheese cookies. I have stayed away from brown sugar as this could affect the color of the white holiday spritz cookies.
- Egg yolk - The egg yolk binds the ingredients and adds moisture to these cookies.
- Vanilla extract - I always use high-quality vanilla extract for maximum flavor in baked goods. You could also use almond extract.
- Flour - All-purpose flour is a sturdy option for soft and buttery cookies, but you could also use gluten-free flour such as Bob’s Red Mill. I prefer to sift the flour for an extra smooth cookie batter.
- Assorted holiday sprinkles - Use your favorite assortment of sprinkles. I love the classic color combinations of red and green, but you could use white and blue.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down where you'll find the recipe card.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a non-stick baking mat.
Place the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes (until light and fluffy)
Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add the flour and mix until just blended.
Fill the cookie press with dough and press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle cookies with nonpareils or favorite sprinkles right before baking.
Bake for 9 - 11 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Cool the cookies on the pan on a cooling grid for 5 minutes.
Remove from the pan and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Transfer the baked cookies to an airtight container for storage.
Tips
- Use an ungreased baking sheet otherwise, the extra grease will cause the cookie press cookies to spread. I usually opt for parchment paper or use a non-stick baking mat.
- Room temperature cookie dough is perfect for baking with for this spritz cookies recipe, but if the dough has become too warm, add it to the fridge for a few minutes so that it’s the right consistency for the cookie press and so that the cookies don’t spread flat while baking.
- If any cookies get pressed incorrectly or misshaped, add the dough back into the remaining dough to reuse.
- For even baking, bake the same cookie shape simultaneously and then move on to the next shape.
- To use a cookie press, fill the barrel with soft dough and secure the cookie disk onto the base of the press (the smooth side of the disk facing up). Press the plunger a couple of times to start to move the dough down the barrel. Rest the bottom of the press firmly onto the cookie sheet and squeeze the trigger to create your spritz cookie.
- Add gel food coloring to the cookie dough to make your favorite Christmas cookie. Green food coloring can be used to make green trees cookies, and red food coloring can be used if you want to make red and white festive cookies.
- When it comes to color combination cookies, halve the cookie dough sticks before adding it into the barrel of the press and only color one half. Shape the red and white dough into two narrow logs and place them together into the cookie press.
Freezing and Storing Instructions
You can keep the cookie dough (unpressed) in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.
Once thawed, overnight in the refrigerator, and bring it to room temperature before continuing with the baking steps.
Baked cookies will freeze just fine for 2-3 months, thaw before serving but I do recommend freezing the unbaked cookie dough instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can, although I would recommend using half butter and half cream cheese instead of omitting the butter entirely for the best results.
Yes, most food that contains cream cheese as an ingredient should be refrigerated within the first two hours of making. This includes cakes, cream cheese cookies, and cream cheese frosting.
The term “spritz” comes from the German word “Spritzen”, which means to squirt. The action of squirting is likened to how the cookie dough is pressed through the cookie press, which is how these cream cheese cookies got their name!
The main difference between sugar cookies and spritz cookies is that sugar cookies are shaped using cookie cutters while a cookie press shapes spritz cookies.
Spritz cookies are also more like shortbread cookies; however, they are slightly less crumbly than shortbread cookies since they contain egg which helps to bind the cookie dough better so that the cookies retain their shape.
Spritz cookies are made with the same ingredients as a sugar cookie, but I’ve also added cream cheese to these cookies.
It’s easier to press the cookie dough down the cookie press barrel when it’s at room temperature but not overly warm, as it may stick. While some cookie-press recipes call for chilling the dough, it’s best not to chill it for too long otherwise, the dough will become stiff.
Thank you so much for reading about these delicious Christmas spritz cookies recipe. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Rita
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Cream Cheese Christmas Spritz Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened if using unsalted add ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- assorted holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a non-stick baking mat.
- Place the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes (until light and fluffy)
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add the flour and mix until just blended.
- Fill the cookie press with dough and press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies may be sprinkled with nonpareils or jimmies sprinkles before baking.
- Bake for 9 - 11 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Cool the cookies on the pan on a cooling grid for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Transfer the baked cookies to an airtight container for storage.
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Recipe has been adapted from here.
Christmas spritz cookies is a long-standing tradition in many households during the holiday season! These classic spritz cookies are buttery and soft, made with cream cheese and formed into all kinds of shapes using a spritz cookie press.