Spritz Cookies (Swedish Butter Cookies)

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Spritz Cookies or Swedish Butter cookies are crispy, buttery cookies from the Scandinavia Cuisine. Perfect as edible gifts or best for any special festive gatherings, or for your cookie exchange. 

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You can jump to the recipe, but you will miss the tips and tricks mentioned in the post

What is a Spritz Cookie?

Spritz Cookies are a traditional Christmas cookie in Scandinavian countries. The name spritz comes from the German word Spritzen meaning “to squirt”. As the dough is pushed or squirted through a cookie press to make beautiful designs. 

How are Spritz Cookies shaped

These cookies are generally made using a cookie press. However, if you do not have a cookie press, you can use a piping bag or a ziplock. You can use different nozzles to give them different designs.

Ingredients used in Spritz Cookies

These cookies are simple, light, and have the perfect melt in the mouth texture. They are made using butter, sugar, egg and flour. Vanilla essence is used for flavouring. 

I always compare these cookies with our traditional Indian butter cookie, Nankhatai. The reason is in Nankhatai also uses the same butter, sugar, and flour. Eggs are not used at all and the flavouring is done using cardamom instead of vanilla. Nankhatai is also rich, buttery, and have a melt in the mouth texture. 

Decorating the Spritz Cookies

Different types of nuts, cherries, sprinkles, chocolate vermicelli are used to decorate these cookies. The dough can even be coloured to a more fancy and festive look. Children love to decorate these cookies and it is a fun way to keep them busy during holidays.

The secret to making best Spritz cookie

These cookies use minimum ingredients. They are easy to make but at the same time a little tricky. I know I am confusing you. But what I mean here is if you follow the steps and recipe correctly you should be able to bake the best spritz cookies.

The temperature of the cookie dough

The temperature of the cookie dough plays an important role. If you are working in a hot environment, it is best to refrigerate the dough. If the dough is warm, your cookie will not hold shape and while baking it will spread more and even might turn hard.

Baking Tray

• If you are making a big batch, do not pipe the cookie on the hot tray again. The cookie tray needs to be cold or best at room temperature. Again if you are working in a hot kitchen, it is best to even refrigerate the baking tray.
• Do not line your baking tray with parchment paper, as it is a bit difficult for the dough to stick to it.
• Keep the above tips in mind and you will successfully bake the best melt in the mouth cookies.

Why are my cookies dense?  

The butter and sugar should be creamed to the right consistency. It should be light and fluffy. This is really important or else you will have a thick and dense dough. If the dough is thick it would result in cookies being hard and also it would be difficult for the cookies to pass through a cookie dough or a cookie press. 

Why are my cookies hard?

After adding flour to the dough do not overwork the dough. Just enough that the flour is well incorporated. If you overwork the dough your cookies might get hard or tough.

Consistency of the dough

The dough should not be very soft or very hard. I.e. soft enough for you to be able to press it through the cookie press or piping bag but not too hard that you are not able to do so. If you find it a bit soft, it is best to refrigerate the dough for some time.  

Baking time

Bake these cookies until they are brown on the edges. Do not overbake. Also if you are oven is hot, reduce the temperature by 5-10 Deg C.

Spritz Cookies (Swedish Butter cookies)

Spritz Cookies or Swedish Butter cookies are crispy, buttery cookies from the Scandinavia Cuisine and a must during Christmas.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Scandinavian

Keyword: 10 min Recipe, Christmas, Cookies, Edible Gifts, Festival Special Recipes, Kids Food, Whole Wheat flour

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 30 Cookies

Author: Renu Agrawal-Dongre

Equipment

• Oven
• Baking Tray
• Piping Bag
• Nozzles
• Hand Mixer
• Spatula

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup 110 gms Unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 Cup 50 gms Powdered Demerara Sugar (Traditionally granulated white sugar is used)
• 1 medium-size egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 Cup 130 gms – Whole Wheat Flour, Sifted (Can be replaced with All-purpose flour)
• 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
• Candied Cherries (nuts, sprinkles, or any edible item you can think of for decoration)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
• Place a baking tray in the refrigerator to chill while you make the batter. (It’s only needed if you think you are working in a hot environment.)
• In a bowl of your electric mixer or with your hand mixer add in the butter and sugar.
  1/2 Cup 110 gms Unsalted butter, room temperature, 1/4 Cup 50 gms Powdered Demerara Sugar (Traditionally granulated white sugar is used)
  
• Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy (2-3 minutes)
  
• Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
  1 medium-size egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  
• Add in the flour, salt and beat the mixture until well incorporated. (The pic is of remaining dough as forgot to take it earlier)
  1 Cup 130 gms – Whole Wheat Flour, Sifted, 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
  
• If your dough is soft, keep it in the fridge for at least half an hour. You should be able to press the cookies without exerting too much pressure.
• If you are using a cookie press add the dough to it.
• If using a pastry bag, fit it with the required nozzle and add the dough.
• Shape the cookies as you like.
• Top it with candied cherries, almonds, cranberries, etc. (As you p or anything you can think of. One can skip the decoration if required.
  Candied Cherries
  
• Do keep at least 1-inch space in between as they will enlarge after baking.
• Bake cookies for 11-14 minutes or until the edges are a bit brown.
• Remove from the oven and let it cool completely on the baking tray before transferring them to an airtight container.
• These cookies remain good for 15 days, but best consumed as soon as possible for maximum crunch.

Notes

• Bake these cookies until they are brown on the edges. Do not overbake.
• Temperature and the consistency of the dough are crucial.
• Do not work in a hot environment for these cookies.
• Read the above tips and tricks before proceeding with the recipe.

 

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Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

Updates

This post was originally created on 25th March 2018. Today I am updating the post with tips and tricks and better clicks.

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