Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

These adorable Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies are the perfect buttery bite-sized morsels! They dress up any cookie platter and are the most fun cookies to customize and decorate.

I’ve tried a lot of Spritz cookie recipes, but this one is my most favorite!

And if you’re looking for more fun and festive cookies to bake for your Christmas cookie platter, check out these Sugar Plums, Eggnog Cookies, Easy Snickerdoodle Hershey Kiss Cookies, Candy Cane Cookies, Cinnamon Meringue Cookies, and melt-in-your-mouth Snowball Cookies.

Hi, it’s Allison here from Some the Wiser. The weather turned cold here and I’ve been baking up a cookie storm at my house. Check out my favorite Spiced Ginger Cookies with Lemon Glaze and my favorite traditional Biscochitos (a beloved New Mexico tradition).

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Wilton Cookie Press

Wilton Holiday Sprinkles

Wilton 12-Count Gel-Based Food Color

What is a Spritz Cookie?

Spritz Cookies are a cross between Shortbread Cookies and Sugar Cookies. They are buttery like shortbread, but they hold their shape like a sugar cookie and aren’t crumbly like shortbread.

The word “Spritz” comes from the German word “Spritzen,” which means “to squirt” because the cookie dough is squirted through a Cookie Press to make it into fun, bite-size shapes.

I used this Wilton Spritz Cookie Press, which comes with 12 different cookie designs. A cookie press is best for these Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies, but in a pinch, you can pipe them through a pastry bag with a large star tip.

How to Make Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies are some of my favorite cookies to bake because they are so simple and fast. There’s nothing complicated about this cookie dough, and you can make 70 to 80 cookies in one batch!

Here’s what you need to make Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies:

• Basic ingredients: Butter, Flour, Egg Yolk, Sugar, Vanilla
• Optional Flavors (pick just one per batch): Lemon, Orange, or Almond extract, or even Nutmeg
• Optional Decorations: Colored Sugar, Sprinkles, Melted Chocolate for Dipping, Food Coloring
• Cookie Press

That’s all you need! And since you don’t have to chill the dough, they whip up very quickly.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and add sugar; then, with an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.

Add egg yolk, vanilla extract, and flavor extract if using. Beat just until combined. Add flour and salt and stir just until all the ingredients are combined.

If you want to use food coloring, add it at this point and stir just enough to incorporate color.

Now the fun part is pressing them with the cookie press onto baking sheets.

When they’re done baking, just cool them on wire racks for 10 minutes, and you’re ready to start munching.

What is the Secret to Making Spritz Cookies?

These Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies really are a cinch to make. However, there are few tips that will ensure perfect Spritz Cookies.

First, use an unlined, ungreased cookie sheet. For the cookie press to work properly, the cookie dough needs to grip the baking sheet as it comes out of the press.

Secondly, be sure to cream the butter and sugar and cream cheese together until it is really light and fluffy. This will guarantee light, tender cookies.

Also, don’t overcook them. When they come out of the oven, they will still look light in color on top and just light golden underneath. If they start to look golden brown on top, you’ve overcooked them. Remove from baking sheets to racks to cool.

And finally, the real secret to great Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies is to have fun decorating them. These cute, bite-size little cookies practically beg for decorations. You can even use food coloring in the dough and really brighten up the whole cookie platter!

Why Do My Spritz Cookies Spread?

To prevent your Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies from spreading, preheat the oven and use cold, unlined baking sheets. If you press the dough out onto a warm baking sheet, it will spread. If you are making multiple batches, you don’t want to re-use a baking sheet with the remaining dough unless it has completely cooled between batches.

Use plain, aluminum baking sheets and work quickly to press the cookies out and get them into the preheated oven. As long as they don’t sit too long and the pan is cool, they shouldn’t spread.

Pin it HERE!!

Pin it HERE!!

Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

Tara Noland

These adorable Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies are the perfect buttery bite-sized morsels! They dress up any cookie platter and are the most fun cookies to customize and decorate.

4.54 from 15 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Cookies

Servings 75 cookies

Calories 30 kcal

Ingredients

 

• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 package 8 oz full fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• optional: 1 teaspoon lemon extract OR almond extract OR orange extract
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• optional: decorator’s sugar or sprinkles

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• Add egg yolk, vanilla extract, and flavor extract if using. Beat just until combined.
• Add flour and salt and stir just until all the ingredients are combined. If you want to use food coloring, add it at this point and stir just enough to incorporate color.
• Follow manufacturer’s instructions for using cookie press. Press cookies out onto unlined, ungreased cold baking sheets, about an inch apart from each other (they shouldn’t spread much). Once the cookies are all pressed onto the baking sheets, you can add sprinkles or decorating sugar.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. They will be light in color on top and just a little golden underneath. Be careful to not overcook.

Equipment

Wilton Icing Colors, 12-Count Gel-Based Food Color

Wilton Holiday Sprinkles Assortment, 6.8 oz.

Wilton Preferred Press Cookie Press, 13-Piece

Notes

These cookies freeze beautifully. They can also be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 30kcalCarbohydrates: 6gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 10mgSugar: 3g

Nutrition calculation is an estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

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