Italian Butter (Spritz) Cookies

I do admire people who post Christmas cookie recipes prior to Christmas! 😉

This recipe was adapted from one of my absolute favorite books, Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland by Shauna Sever. I used almond extract, Irish butter, a cookie press, and baked the cookies on convection. Simple and classic.

They can be made in any shape to suit the season. The original recipe also suggests topping the cookies with sprinkles, sparkling colored sugars, or drizzling or sandwiching them with chocolate.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies

• 8 oz (225 g) unsalted European-style butter, at room temperature (I used Kerrygold)
• 120 g (1 cup) confectioners’ sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp pure almond, lemon, or anise extract
• 256 g (2 cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• sprinkles or sparkling colored sugars, optional
• melted dark or white chocolate for drizzling, optional

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F (180 C), preferably on convection.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper. (Silicone liners make piping a little bit easier because the they don’t lift up as the cookie press or piping tip pulls away.)(I used both!)
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy.
4. Add the confectioners’ sugar and continue to beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and the additional extract of your choice. Blend for 1 minute more.
6. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the flour, salt, and baking powder. Scrape down the bowl well and make sure the dough is well mixed.
7. Immediately transfer the dough to a cookie press or a heavy-duty piping bag fitted with a large open star tip, such as Ateco #826.
8. Spritz the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. If using a pastry bag, pipe the cookies into desired shapes- aim for cookies about 2 inches (5 cm) wide, spaced about 2 inches apart.
9. Decorate with sprinkles or sparkling sugars, if desired.
10. Refrigerate on the sheets for about 15 minutes, or freeze for 5 minutes. (I placed the parchment on a plastic cutting board in the freezer.)
11. Bake until lightly golden at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Cookies on parchment will brown faster; those on silicone mats will need a little more time to color.
12. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheets for 2 or 3 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely. To finish non-sprinkled cookies, drizzle or sandwich with melted dark or white chocolate, if desired.