These chocolate spritz cookies are buttery cookies piped into decorative designs, then baked to perfection and topped with chocolate and sprinkles. A classic and beautiful holiday cookie that’s a welcome addition to any gathering!
It’s not Christmas without spritz cookies. This version adds a healthy dose of chocolate and some festive sprinkles to make delightful little cookies that taste as good as they look.
Spritz cookies are a holiday classic, but a lot of the time they look better than they actually taste. These chocolate spritz cookies are both attractive and totally delicious. Spritz cookies can look complicated, but they’re actually quite easy to make.
What is a spritz cookie?
The name spritz comes from a German word spritzen, which means to squirt. They are named this way because a soft cookie dough is pushed through a cookie press to make intricate designs.
How do you make chocolate spritz cookies?
The dough for these spritz cookies is a simple mixture of butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour and cocoa powder. The dough gets loaded into a cookie press and the cookies are pressed onto a baking sheet. These cookies are small so they bake up quickly. After the cookies are cool, they can be decorated with chocolate and sprinkles.
What is a cookie press?
A cookie press is an inexpensive kitchen device that consists of a cylinder with a plunger on one end. The cylinder is filled with cookie dough and decorative discs are attached to the front of the press so that when the cookie dough is extruded, it will come out in a unique and attractive design.
Tips for chocolate spritz cookies
- Don’t be tempted to refrigerate your dough. The dough needs to be soft so that it will move through the press smoothly.
- After the cookies are completely cool, they can be dipped in chocolate and decorated with sprinkles. I like to use chocolate candy melts for this task because they melt smooth and thin unlike chocolate chips. My favorite brand is Ghirardelli Melting Wafers.
- Decorated spritz cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Spritz cookies can be frozen, however, I recommend freezing them before they’ve been decorated. Thaw your cookies, then proceed with the decorating process.
I like to use a variety of different cookie press discs when I make chocolate spritz cookies. Look for a cookie press that already comes packaged with a lot of discs so that you have plenty to choose from.
Everyone will be so impressed when you bring chocolate spritz cookies to your next holiday gathering or cookie exchange. They’re simple, elegant and full of flavor!
More delicious cookie recipes
- Stained Glass Cookies
- Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Christmas Wreath Cookies
- Red Velvet Cookies
- Almond Roca Cookies
Chocolate Spritz Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 10 ounces white and/or dark candy melts
- 3/4 cup holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
- Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder and salt. Beat on low speed until just combined.
- Fill the cookie press with dough and press cookies onto the prepared sheet pans.
- Bake each pan for 5-7 minutes or until just set. Cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely.
- After all cookies have cooled, place the dark and white candy melts into two bowls. Microwave one bowl at a time in 30 second increments until melted, stir until smooth.
- Dip the cookies halfway into the chocolate and decorate with sprinkles. If the dipping chocolate starts to harden, microwave for a few seconds to re-melt.
- Let dry completely, then serve, or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Marilyn says
Some suggestions if your cookies don’t hold their shape, break up, etc.
1. You can press these directly to a cold, clean, ungreased cookie sheet. I put them in the refrigerator while making the dough.
2. Press out a test cookie. If it spreads, add a tablespoon of flour at a time, press out again, and if still not holding its shape, repeat. You shouldn’t need to add much flour to correct too soft of a dough.
3. If they are crumbly when pressed, add a tablespoon of milk at a time and press out again. Repeat if necessary. Always fluff the flour before spooning into a measuring cup, and level with a knife.
4. When pressing, hold the press directly and firmly down on the cookie sheet. Press out according to your press cookie maker instructions, wait a second, lift and move on to the next cookie.
I hope this helps some!
Gina says
I followed the recipe exactly as stated, but it is very crumbly, and no dough-like at all. Any suggestions?
Sara says
How do you measure your flour? I always recommend spooning flour into the cup and leveling it off rather than using the cup to scoop it. The latter can add too much flour to a recipe. My guess is that you accidentally added too much flour. You can remedy this by adding a little water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until the dough just comes together.
Hanrof says
I didn’t measure the flour the right way and it came out the same way. I just added another egg and it was perfect!
Ress says
Can i pipe these cookies? do I need to change the consistency if iI want to piped out the batter instead of using a press?
Sara says
Piping is fine, and the consistency should work!
Leslie says
What type of cookie press do you have? I have a bottle of all natural coffee syrup, I wonder if I could add a tsp of that? I don’t have any espresso powder. Thoughts?
Sara says
I use a crate and barrel cookie press. Is that like an extract?
Iva says
Your photos sold me on these cookies and I have had a cookie press for years and never used it! I pulled it out and made your recipe, except half regular cocoa powder and the other half dark cacao powder. They are delicious! But I too had trouble with them sticking to the bottom of the press. I didn’t realize you have to put them directly on the cookie sheet, with no silpat or parchment paper AND I had to chill the dough a bit. However, mine came out sort of fat and the design wasn’t quite as cute as yours. All in all, loved it and thank you for opening my eyes to spritz cookies!
Paula says
Made these today. Loved changing up my usual butter spritz cookie with chocolate! Like another commenter , I also added 1/4 tsp of espresso powder and a full tsp of vanilla. These cookies smell like brownies baking! And the uncooked dough is very tasty. 🙂 I will be doing some kind of dip or 1/2 dip in dark chocolate melting wafers and adding some holiday theme sprinkles. Oh!! Btw, you don’t need parchment paper to bake on. I pressed these cookies directly onto my non stick cookie sheets and they were just fine. Thank you!
Sherri Hertzog says
Do you use the whisk or batter attachment on the mixer? Thanks for the recipe!
Sara says
I use the paddle attachment!
dianah lubis says
The recipe is great. I’ve made it 3 times already. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
May I ask: could I refridgerated the dough for the next day?
Rhank you
Sara says
You can refrigerate the dough but you’ll want to let it sit out to soften a bit before you use it, otherwise it will be too stiff to go through the press!
Karen says
Have you ever had issue with the pressed cookie sticking to the bottom of the press with this recipe? Suggestion for me?
Sara says
I have not had that issue. It’s important to put the barrel of the press directly flat onto the sheet and give one firm press, then remove. You could also try coating the front of the cookie press plate with cooking spray or try chilling the dough for about 20 minutes to firm it up.
Kathy N says
I just made these for my church bake sale and they turned out fantastic! Thanks for a great recipe!
Jennie says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Sara says
Unsalted!
Liz says
Just made these and they came out great! Only thing I changed was I added a full teaspoon of vanilla, and I also added 1/2 tsp of espresso powder to bring out the chocolate flavor. It was delicious, and a very welcome change to the plain butter cookies. Thanks!
Sara says
Love the idea of adding espresso powder, glad you enjoyed the cookies!