These cream cheese spritz cookies are the best spritz cookie recipe ever! They’re tender, full of flavor and so pretty when dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. A must have for any holiday celebration!
If you think classic spritz cookies are boring, think again! These cute little guys are the ultimate Christmas cookie that is sure to become a family favorite.
I’m going to be honest and tell you that for the longest time I thought spritz cookies were boring. Now that I’ve discovered these amazingly delicious cream cheese spritz cookies, I’m a total convert. They’re everything a good holiday cookie should be, and when you dip them in chocolate and sprinkles? They get even better.
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 butter cookie dough is pushed through a cookie press to make intricate designs.
How to make spritz cookies
This recipe is actually quite simple yet yields the most impressive results. The dough takes about 5 minutes to put together and contains the usual suspects – flour, butter, sugar, vanilla, egg, along with some cream cheese. There’s no chilling required here, the dough goes straight into a spritz cookie press and you’re ready to make some beautiful treats. I used a variety of cookie designs here, all the discs came with my press and it’s easy to just unscrew the bottom and change to a different disc as you go.
These cookies don’t spread much, so you can fit a bunch of them on one pan too. I divided my dough in half and colored part of it green. That’s totally optional but it sure does look pretty. The cookies bake for just 10 minutes, then after they cool you’re ready to start decorating.
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.
I dip my cream cheese spritz cookies in white and dark candy melts, then add festive holiday sprinkles. This is a great project for the kids, my girls had so much fun with it! The chocolate coating really makes these cookies special, it adds a lot of flavor but also makes them look really fancy. These cookies keep well at room temperature in a covered container for up to 3 days, and they freeze beautifully too.
No holiday celebration is complete without the classics, and these cream cheese spritz cookies are a requirement in my opinion! You won’t believe how good they taste and you’ll get tons of compliments on how beautiful they look.
MORE FESTIVE HOLIDAY RECIPES
Spritz Cookies Video
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- green food coloring optional
- 10 ounces white and/or dark chocolate candy melts
- assorted holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a non stick baking mat.
- Place the butter, cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla, beat until combined.
- Add the flour and mix until just blended.
- Divide the dough in half. Color half the dough green if desired.
- Shape 1/4 of the dough into a log and place into the barrel of the cookie press.
- Spritz the cookies directly onto the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set and light golden brown on the edges.
- Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
- 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.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on November 28, 2017 and was updated on November 15, 2018 with new content.
Simone says
Hi Sara. Do you have to use a cookie press, or, can you use cookie cutters? How thick would you roll the dough? Thank you.
Sara says
I’m not sure if this would be well suited for roll out cookies. Here is my favorite roll out recipe! https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/christmas-sugar-cookies/
Mari says
Best recipe for spritz cookies!!! Thank you for sharing. Perfect consistency 🙂
Janet says
These are super easy to make. The dough is beautifully soft and makes such a delicious tender cookie! I’ll be making lots of these!
Sabrina says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Sara says
I’ve tested it both ways and either will work fine!
Arlene says
Pretty easy to make dough and very easy to press out. I got almost 7 dozen. They very tasty. Love the recipe!
Bdu says
When substituting with Almond Flour, do you have recommendations for the amount of butter to use?
Sara says
I’m not sure if this recipe would work with almond flour, the dough has to be a very specific consistency to go through the cookie press without sticking and to hold its shape when baked.
Pat says
Can I freeze the dough or keep it in the frig overnight.
Sara says
Yes both are fine!
KMP says
Hi, can I double this recipe? Thank you.
Sara says
Yes you can adjust the number of servings in the recipe card and the ingredients will automatically recalculate
Barb says
Very yummy. I WILL be making these again!!
Amy Horton says
These taste like a shortbread, dough comes together easily. If you’re having difficulty getting your cookie press to press dough, chill your sheet pan, that helps.