Christmas Spritz Cookies

Here is another Christmas cookie favorite from my baking bonanza. My mom always made these and she patiently pressed them out of their magic cookie press in a variety of shapes, including trees, wreaths and stars and they were always embellished with food coloring in the dough and colored sugars and cinnamon candies.

Sometime over the years I bought a Spritz cookie press and haven't used it for a very long time until today. I dug it out of the basement, washed if off, made the incredibly easy dough and shoved it into the press. Well, this is where it got difficult. Oh my, how did my mother make those dozens of cookies? My experience was that the dough either wouldn't come out at all or it came out in huge globs of unidentifiable shapes. I patiently put it back in and started over and finally got two dozen of semi-identifiable tree shapes which I did the obligatory sprinkle of sugar and topped with a cinnamon dot. Once baked they looked fine and I think no one will have any trouble recognizing old Tannenbaum.

Post Script: I just read Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis's blog and she threw her spritz cookie press in the dumpster after her attempt at making these cookies. Let me add that as demonstrated by her amazing blog pictures she is a phenomonel baker so I don't feel so bad about my difficulties.

Spritz Cookies

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup butter

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large mixing bowl combine sugar, butter, egg, salt and vanilla. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture is light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add flour. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 2-3 minutes. Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes, 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Cool on racks.