Almond Spritz Cookies Recipe (2024)

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?

Double the almond flour and refrigerate the dough before rolling with plastic wrap. Chill cookie sheets, use silpats. Dough is super sticky and super soft. Bake 9-12 minutes. Time varies by shape.

Absolutely wonderful recipe! The recipe states 4 dozen cookies but ours yielded 8 dozen for a single batch.

These came out well for me. I didn’t have almond flour so just used all-purpose. I used 2 tsp. almond extract and no vanilla. In my opinion these could still use more flavor, so next time I’ll add another tsp. of almond extract, 3/4 tsp. kosher salt and another 1/4 c. sugar. I chilled the dough and baking sheets and believe that helped with the pressing. I made my dough green and used silver sprinkles on the cookies. :)

These cookies are delicious. The dough was just the right consistency for the cookie press and for the first time, ever when making spritz cookies, I did not lose the first cookie pressed. I gave it only 4 stars because I got 3 dozen plus 4 cookies from this recipe, not 4 dozen as noted. Otherwise, I'll need to make another batch because this first round will get eaten in 1 day.

Makes six dozen

Just made these! My first time making spritz cookies and went ahead and bought the Oxo cookie press just for the occasion. I made the mistake of using parchment paper to start—thought I was doing something wrong because it would NOT work. Thank you for the reviewer who specified that pressing the cookies directly on the sheet is the only way this works. No problems thereafter. Cookies came out perfectly!

I love and have made this recipe for a few years for the holidays. If fact, I need to be brief to take a batch out of the oven. I use the oxo cookie press with the wreath. Then, I hang the cookies on a wreath on my condo door and neighbors eat the cookies during the holidays. I need 1/2 C almond flour at my altitude (Swarthmore, PA) and never grease the pan. Thanks for the fun you added to my life, Melissa Clark.

Haven’t baked these yet but made them today and froze them to bake later for the holidays. I don’t have a spritz press so decided to pipe them…uh, that’s a non-starter. This dough needs to be MUCH softer to pipe and I ended up adding some half and half to soften the dough (after already loading the piping bag; lord, what a PITA getting that out). Piped onto an ungreased baking sheet, can’t remove them now so they’ll stay on there until I’m ready to bake!

I still have the 60 year old aluminum press. The key to pull that one away from the sheet after depositing the cookie is to make sure the sheet is not hot and not oiled or buttered. I have never tried it with paper. Give it a healthy portion and then it should pull right away. If that doesn't work, try putting the press in the fridge for a few minutes.

WAY too much butter - these loose their shape almost entirely when baked. Did exactly what the recipe calls for and they are shapeless and undefined.

a reliable spritz cookie, not sure it 'moves the needle' in any way.

Did anyone else have spread? I put mine in the oven for 12 mins. The edges got pretty dark, which is fine with me but lost there shape. Dough seemed fine when spritzing.

Made this for the first time for a cookie donation to a local school. Followed the recipe because I like the almond taste in pastries and cookies. Everything was easy until it came to shaping the cookies. Had a hard time with that. Added a sprinkle of flour to help get the dough to cooperate. Wasn’t thrilled with the taste, they came out tasting more like shortbread cookies rather than anything with almond.

This is a delicious and easy recipe. I first made it just as written. For the second batch, I switched vanilla for the almond extract. And I added a teaspoon of freshly ground cardamom and the zest of one orange. I kept the almond flour.

Great tip about making a roll with hands for filling tube!