Cookied Out

On Friday night, I attended a get together with a few girls from a local board.  The theme was cookies.  We all had to bring cookies, store bought or homemade, to share and then take some home.  There were 14 of us there....that was a lot of cookies!  They were all delicious but I'm cookied out!

I brought some spritz cookies.  Why?  Well, because considering the amount of cookies I had to make, pressed cookies seemed like the easiest route and it was.  One single batch made about 100 cookies but it depends on the design.  The Christmas tree die is apparently not a dough hog.  This recipe is very loosely based on a Martha Stewart recipe.

Vanilla and Cinnamon Spritz Cookies


1 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla powder (or vanilla extract)

3 sticks (12 oz) unsalted butter
2 large egg yolks
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
sanding sugar as needed



Preheat the oven to 350°F.


Beat the sugar and the vanilla powder on medium speed until incorporated, about 3 minutes.  Add the butter and beat until pale and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time making sure to beat well after each addition.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour, salt and ground cinnamon and beat until smooth.


Working in batches, fill the cookie press and press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.. Sprinkle the dough with the sanding sugar and bake until the edges are just golden, about 10 minutes.


Let the cookies cool in the sheet.  Cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days.  Raw dough can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

I get my vanilla powder at Williams Sonoma and it's Nielsen-Masseys.  It measure tablespoon for tablespoon with vanilla extract and I haven't noticed a difference in the consistency of the final baked good. I got it for the novelty of it but I think I won't get it again once this pot runs out.

I baked a similar version of this cookie some time last year but they were wreaths then.  I also dyed the cookies green this time since I wanted to make Christmas trees.  These is an easy peasy cookie to make and the press just makes it even easier.

Happy baking!