Spritz Cookies - Swedish Butter Cookies

By Foodiewife

The origins of this cookie is divided between Swedish and German. Either way, "spritz" means "squirt" and that's how the cookies are placed onto a baking sheet. You can use either a "Cookie Press" (typically a cylinder with a trigger that pushes the dough through a variety of disk shapes), or you can pipe them from a pastry bag. Either way, the recipe is very simple but has a lot of possibilities for flavor variations. This recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen, and it's the best one I've made so far. The cookies are crispy on the outside, and tender on this inside. I love them with a hot cup of tea. For the record, I used OXO's new Cookie Press, that works great!

Ingredients

• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2-sticks), softened (about 70°F)
• 2/3 cup sugar (about 4 3/4-ounces)
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10-ounces)
• Note: for an Almond variation, decrease the vanilla to 1/2 teaspoon and add 1/2 teaspoon of pure almond extract

Details

Servings 5
Preparation time 5mins
Cooking time 15mins
Adapted from foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, beat yolk, cream, and vanilla with fork until combined; set aside.

In standing mixer, cream butter, sugar, and salt at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. With mixer running at medium speed, add yolk/cream mixture and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds.

Scrape down bowl. With mixer running at low speed, gradually beat in flour until combined. Scrape down bowl and give final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain.

If using cookie press to form cookies, follow manufacturer's instructions to fill press; if using pastry bag, press or pipe cookies onto un-greased baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking time. Cool cookies on baking sheet until just warm, 10 to 15 minutes; using metal spatula, transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

My tips for best success:
Use room temperature butter and egg yolk.
Make sure that your baking sheets are clean, and free of grease (or the cookies could stick).
Do NOT put the cookies on parchment paper and don't grease the baking sheet!
If you are using a cookie press, roll the dough into a "log". It will easily slip into the cylinder.
Press the dough into the cylinder, trying to get out the air bubbles.
Some of the cookies will come out deformed. Just scoop the dough off the baking sheet, and add back with the rest of the unbaked dough.
Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes, and loosen them with a spatula. Once completely cool, move to a baking rack.