Fav#2: Spritz–the Crispy, Buttery Cookie: the “Quick & Dirty”Way

On with my favorite food highlights!

I am home visiting the fam for Christmas in San Fran. I had to take a step back from “bean town” and show my West coast origins some love. With that said—I was around my little sister, Jackie, when she said she needed cookies for a Holiday classroom party. With her request and my desire to highlight my fav lil’ cookies—the Spritz—this week on GGB, I graciously asked, okay— actually I kind of stated, that I’d  be the one to make the cookies.

What are Spritz?

Spritz are crisp, fragile cookies with a buttery-smooth finish. That’s right—I said butter! Today, we’re taking a slight step down from the uber healthy notes on GGB in order to celebrate the Holidays AND Share my Spritz LOVE with you!

Spritz have been making mouths smile since the early 1500s. In the cookie world, Spritz are defined as simple butter cookies that are shaped using a cookie press. Their name comes from “spritzen,” which means to “squirt or spray” in German. Perhaps their ease in preparation coupled with their addictive crunch and velvety richness explains why they are the traditional Christmas cookie in Scandinavian countries.

The Spritz LOVE in My Family

These cheerful bites have been a staple in my family since the 1960s. My proud Swiss grandmama baked the first batch after her neighbor gave her the recipe. Although my grandmama didn’t have a cookie press—a tool that traditional Spritz call for—she got creative and invented her own “fork pressing” method to shape the cookies. Then, in the 1970s, my aunt further adapted my grandmama’s Spritz baking method and recipe. She began shaping the cookie dough using her hands, and then employed grandmama’s “fork pressing” method.

As a result, the cookies’ preparation time decreased and their attractiveness increased—fewer burn spots, a more even shape, and enhanced goldenness. Hence, through two generations of Spritz baking, my family perfected the “quick and dirty” Spritz cookie recipe that will accommodate your busy schedule! These treats move quickly from your kitchen counter onto your plate—with no cookie press in sight. This recipe will have everyone thinking you slaved for hours on these crispy, buttery wonders! … Unless you have a tweenie sister and not the proper ingredients…

Why I Need to Not Add a Third Generation to the Mix

Please follow the below recipe to a “T.” I did not and as a result my lil’ Spritz wonders were good—just not very Spritz like …

Now—I must defend! The ONLY reason I didn’t follow the EXACT recipe was that I didn’t have all the ingredients, as the lil’ sister gave me a “ton” of “heads-up” time …

• Jackie at 8 PM—“Corinney I need to bring something like cookies/cake to class.”
• Me at 8:01 PM—“Okay, when do you need them?”
• Jackie at 8:03 PM—“Oh, by like 7 tomorrow … 7 in the morning.”
• Me at 8:04 PM—“Ummmm … okay well, I’ll just use what’s here.”

So—What Happened?

• No white all-purpose flour was present, so I used unbleached white whole wheat  (WW) flour (a lighter, milder 100% WW flour, but it still yields a wheaty taste)
• No butter was present, so I used Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread (original whipped) (this was actually good, I’d likely still use a heart healthy buttery spread next time, but it didn’t yield the same rich creamy taste as butter)
• No sifter was available, so the flour wasn’t sifted (using whole wheat with no sifter= a harder, less airy, crunchier product)
• No nonpareil decors were around, so I topped the Spritz with cinnamon and raw sugar (good topping actually, but I missed the pop of sugary color!)

The cookies I made using the above ingredients still resulted in very buttery lil’ numbers, BUT lacked the crisp, fragile texture classic to Spritz that my grandmama’s and aunt’s ALWAYS have. The outcome primarily resulted from the unsifted WW flour.

Hence, as we talked about last week—stick to the 90-10 rule (90% healthy and 10% less healthy) and use sifted WHITE all-purpose flour—so strange for my fiber fanatic self to say. But, this is one time where I will STRESS the use of WHITE, processed, nutrient-stripped flour. Ha! NEVER thought I’d say that!

Okay—enough of my jibber-jabber! Here’s the recipe! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spritz Recipe

Level: Easy

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 6-9 minutes

Yield: approximately 4 dozen cookies

Equipment needed: Oven, mixer, baking sheet/s, metal spatula, aluminum tin for storage (optional)

Ingredients

• 1 cup softened butter
• ½ cup white, granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 teaspoon flavoring (vanilla or almond extract)
• 2 ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
• Nonpareil decors (e.g. multi-color sugar sprinkles) (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a mixer on medium speed, mix butter, sugar, egg, salt, and flavoring (shortening mixture) until creamy.
3. Sift all-purpose flour in a flour sifter and measure sifted flour to desired amount of 2 ¼ cups.
4. On low speed, work flour into shortening mixture by using ¼ cup of flour at a time to form a smooth, soft, doughy batter.
5. Spoon out tablespoon-sized amounts of dough into slightly floured hands and mold into oval balls.
6. Place dough balls onto ungreased baking sheet/s and press down with lightly floured fingers to form desired oval shape.
7. Flatten each cookie slightly with the back of a lightly floured fork, keeping the shape as even as possible—preventing cookies from rising unevenly and forming a decorative, fine-line design.
8. For a festive look, sprinkle your favorite nonpareil decors (e.g. multi-color sugar sprinkles) atop cookie dough before baking.
9. Bake for 6-9 minutes in middle rack of oven, until golden, but not browned.
10. After baking is complete, remove immediately from the baking sheet with a metal spatula and place onto a cold flat surface to cool.
11. Once cooled, place into an aluminum lined metal tin to ensure maximum crispness.

Nutrition Breakdown per Spritz Cookie (about 0.5 ounces): 70 calories, 4 grams fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 6.5 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fiber, 2 grams of sugar, 1 grams of protein, 15 milligrams cholesterol, 52 milligrams sodium

Spicing Up Your Spritz Cookies: Some Variations on the Classic Recipe

• Chocolate Spritz: After the shortening mixture is thoroughly blended, mix on low speed 2 ounces of unsweetened melted chocolate into the mixture until chocolate is evenly dispersed.
• Coffee Spritz: add 1 tablespoon of instant coffee and ¼ cup pecans to the sugar.
• Butterscotch Spritz: substitute brown sugar for white sugar.
• Lemon Spritz: replace the vanilla or almond extract with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest (rind).
• Orange Pecan Spritz: After the shortening mixture is thoroughly blended, mix on low speed 2 tablespoons of grated orange peel and ½ cup pecans into the mixture until orange peel and pecans are evenly dispersed.

Side Notes

• My mom refused to believe the blender was broken, turned it off/on, changed plugs, and kept replugging—finally, the thing turned on and Spritz batter FLEW everywhere. She didn’t think it was too funny … but I did!
• My sister decided the cookies were too “unkid” like, so dissed them and bought store bought ones! I was highly offended! Don’t worry—the above recipe is loved by ALL ages
• My dad loved the cookies and had already eaten 4 before 8 AM … oh dad …
• I like them! And, am currently noshing on ONE with my coffee. You gotta enjoy yourself I’ll healthify it with some fruit!!!!

Happy Spritzing!