Description
Delight in these classic Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies, featuring a tender, buttery dough enhanced with cream cheese and a hint of orange zest. Perfectly piped with a cookie press and decorated with colorful sugars or sprinkles, these cookies offer a festive and delicious treat for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 8 ounces unsalted butter softened (2 sticks)
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Decoration
- Colored sugars
- Sprinkles
- Gel food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare for baking the cookies.
- Cream Butter, Cream Cheese, and Sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth and well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then mix again to ensure thorough blending.
- Add Egg Yolk and Flavorings: Add the egg yolk, orange zest, vanilla extract, and kosher salt to the bowl. Mix for another minute until the mixture is smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl again to fully incorporate all ingredients.
- Add Flour in Two Batches: Add half of the all-purpose flour to the batter and mix on low speed to avoid flour flying out. Then add the remaining flour and mix just until incorporated. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
- Optional Coloring: If desired, add gel food coloring to the dough at this stage. You can add it all into one bowl or divide the dough into separate bowls for multiple colors.
- Pipe Dough onto Sheet Pan: Fit a cookie press with your chosen shape and pipe the dough onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat, leaving at least one inch between cookies to accommodate spreading. Alternatively, use a pastry bag with a large star tip if you don’t have a cookie press.
- Decorate Cookies: Sprinkle colored sugars or sprinkles on top of the cookies before baking to add festive decoration.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 minutes until they are set but are not yet brown around the edges. If baking in batches, allow the sheet pans to cool completely before piping the next batch to prevent spreading.
- Cool Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the pans for 2 minutes after baking, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
- Make sure butter and cream cheese are softened to room temperature for easier creaming and better texture.
- If you don’t have a cookie press, a sturdy piping bag with a large star tip works just as well.
- Be careful not to overmix the dough after adding the flour to maintain tender, delicate cookies.
- Allow the dough in the cookie press or piping bag to remain cool and not too soft to maintain cookie shape during baking.
- For extra flavor, try adding a teaspoon of almond extract instead of vanilla or combining both.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week or freeze for longer storage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 90 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 55 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
