Almond Spritz Cookies

Thank you for the tip about forming without press or piping tool!! I love spritz cookies but have become very disabled and have no strength in my hands so have not attempted Spritz cookies for several years. So, I'm eager to try this recipe technique!!!

FWIW, over the years I've found that the key to getting cookies to separate from the cookie press is to hold the extruded dough against the cookie sheet for just a few seconds before lifting the press straight up. It seems to make the cookie adhere enough to the sheet to cleanly separate from the press. This was always my biggest problem with spritz, which I love. Also I use thermal cookie sheets and parchment paper. Just an FYI.

I used a little less than a tsp of kosher salt instead of the table salt. They came out amazing - not too sweet, the salt added a little crunch, and absolutely addictive. Thanks, Melissa Clark!

Use vanilla instead and skip the almond flour

Here is a video of delightful Melissa Clark making these cookies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlvnRFvPVAc Spritz were one of the first things I learned to make (and made often) at age 11 - decades ago. Always all butter and a little almond extract in the mix using what would now be a very old "spritz press" if I still had it. I don't so I tried these with pastry bag and big tip to swirl into wreaths after watching the video. Great cookies. Nostalgic. Spritz gun now on Santa list.

VM- Melissa's Vanilla Bean Spritz Cookie recipe is almond-free. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021661-vanilla-bean-spritz-cookies

I have tried several cookie presses but cannot find one that works reliably well. My company closes over the break between Christmas and New Year’s and my plan is to watch a ton of tv, drink a lot of box wine, and eat cookies. I need help to make this happen. Any suggestions?

I bought an Oxo press a year ago, and it’s fine. I too miss my family’s old aluminum one. We must all have reasons for getting rid of old stuff that worked, but I wish we hadn’t. I do have an old egg beater, with a pink handle that is wrapped in tape, and it’s perfect (probably from late 1940s, perhaps 1950s). Back to these cookies, they look fabulous and I may replace my spritz cookies with these for Xmas.

My family used to make all the cookies on the day after Thanksgiving (10-12 batches or more!) and store them in (relatively airtight) aluminum tins. My mother would carefully portion out my servings because those cookies had to last us through New Years! (So she could serve them to guests for ~5 weeks.) They did, with no true loss in quality.

I still have my mom’s aluminum cookie press- it’s the best! I found additional ones on eBay for my sisters. I love the almond Spritz cookies. They’re a family Christmas staple.

My mother's recipe, "Danish Royalties," includes 4 hard-boiled egg yolks pressed through a sieve (instead of a raw egg & almond flour). Also 1 tbsp. almond extract. No refrigeration. Use the cookie press & decorate the flower versions (in photo) with 1/2 a candied cherry. Very flavorful, tender, melt-in-your mouth results.

I found a great metal press online by Impress Bakeware. Their numerous plastic disc sets are very creative with incredible detail and are made in the USA (the press is not). They also offer recipes and tips on using the press. One great tip: ensure the cookie sheets are chilled, the cool sheets help the dough grab the sheet more easily. I’ll still use my vintage “Combination Cake Decorator and Cookie Maker” set from my mother (1950s era? USA made, of course) for the holidays though. Love spritz!

I make these for my wife and sisters, and used to make them for my parents before both passed away. Not quite the same recipe as I use the old Mirro cooky press and admittedly, often break down and use (brace yourselves) Crisco; crazy flaky/crunchy cooky, but butter does work fine. But the almond extract is the key, IMO, as is the green food coloring for the trees :) FYI: you can find those old cooky presses on eBay for pretty decent prices if you sear

If you use only almond flour, the dough is much different. In that case you need more egg whites and sugar to form the dough and it is not possible to form cookies like those on the photo.

As with everything, at least in my life, there is a learning curve. It took me a minute to get the hang of the cookie press. But once I did, these were super easy to pump out. And the dough! So delicious. I mean, who needs an oven?