Gingerbread Spritz Cookies
Gingerbread Spritz Cookies are nostalgic holiday treats filled with warmth and joy that everyone loves to make as much as they love to eat!
Gingerbread Spritz Cookies are soft, buttery cookies loaded with comforting gingerbread spices and are simply perfect for the holidays! Break out your cookie-making items like butter, flour, and eggs but make sure to grab the molasses and gingerbread spices too, for a truly festive batch of cookies.
Gingerbread Goodness
The smell of gingerbread alone is enough to make people feel warm, festive, and hungry- just look at all of the gingerbread-scented candles you can buy to make your house smell like this all of the time! These tender, delicious cookies are so fun to make with the family, and everyone can pick out their favorite shape to make their cookies and then decorate them too. Gingerbread spritz cookies are the most delicious gift to give others throughout the season.
Molasses Sugar Cookies are another tasty way of using molasses in your baking but have you thought about combining two amazing treats like cookies and fudge, then you get mouth-watering Gingerbread Cookie Fudge!
Other Recipes to Serve with Gingerbread Spritz Cookies
- Don’t forget the savory treats at the Christmas party and set out a crowd-pleasing Spinach Dip Stuffed Crescent Roll Christmas Tree!
- Seasonal drinks that fill everyone with festive vibes are easy to make when it’s Crock Pot Cranberry Apple Cider.
Ingredients
Pantry Items: To make this recipe, you will need all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract.
Refrigerated Items: Softened unsalted butter is needed for these cookies, as well as a room-temperature egg.
Spices: For those wonderful gingerbread flavors, you will need ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. You will also need a little salt.
Chocolate: Dipping cookies in chocolate is never a bad idea. So if you like that option, then be sure to pick up chocolate melting wafers, but it is optional.
How to Make Gingerbread Spritz Cookies
STEP ONE: Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together. Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses and mix until combined.
STEP TWO: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Add the flour mixture slowly to the mixer and beat until well-mixed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
STEP TWO: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and set out an ungreased cookie sheet or two. Fill the cookie press with the dough using a spatula, and then press the cookies out onto the baking sheets. Depending on the size of your oven and baking sheets, you may be able to cook all the cookies at once. Refrigerate the uncooked dough between batches.
STEP THREE: Bake the cookies for 5-7 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to cooling racks. Once the cookies are cool, you can dip them into the melted chocolate if you choose.
Tips for Success
- When making any kind of Spritz cookie, it is important you DO NOT use a greased cookie sheet. There is enough butter in the dough that will keep the dough from sticking to the sheet.
- The molasses in the cookies will give them a lovely brown color, like any gingerbread treat. So while adding food coloring probably isn’t a good idea, adding sprinkles, dusting with powdered sugar, icing, or dipping the cookies in chocolate is a great idea! You can add the sprinkles to the cookies once they are pressed on the cookie sheet before you put them in the oven. If you want to dip the cookies, just wait until they have cooled completely before doing so.
- Keep these cookies in an airtight container for 1 week or freeze the cookies for up to 6 months. It’s a good idea to put sheets of wax or parchment paper between the layers of cookies when putting them in the freezer to minimize crumbling and broken cookies.
What’s the trick to using a cookie press?
There are a few different cookie presses on the market, so be sure to read the instructions and tips for the cookie press you have purchased to avoid any problems or common pitfalls. When it comes to using a cookie press, there are a few general things to keep in mind.
The first is the consistency of the dough. Cookie presses really only work for a Spritz-type dough and not a dense dough like shortbread. This is also why you can usually make up the dough and go right to pressing it out without refrigerating it.
Using an ungreased cookie sheet will help the cookies stay in place, but there is so much butter in the dough the cookies should not stick.
Once you have pressed the cookie on the sheet, pause and then gently lift the press from the dough to make sure the dough has detached from the press, and then use your finger to tamp down any ridges. Sometimes it just takes practice, and since this recipe makes so many, you’ll be a cookie press pro in no time!
Why won’t my spritz cookies release from the press?
Dough consistency is pretty important when it comes to using a cookie press. Once you’re done mixing the dough together, use your best judgment to decide if the dough is too soft or just right.
Does it fall apart easily or spread easily? If it does, it’s likely too loose and will be difficult to press without sticking to it. Chill the dough for 30 minutes, and then try pressing.
When the dough is the right consistency, it should take a little pressure to press the cookie, and then the cookie will not move or spread once on the sheet.
More cookies filled with holiday cheer!
- Cinnamon Spritz Sandwich Cookies
- Grinch Chocolate Covered Oreos
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies
- Spritz Cookies
Gingerbread Spritz Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- White chocolate melting wafers (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and brown sugar for 1 minute. Mix in the molasses, egg, and vanilla and beat until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a little at a time, beating between each addition until fully incorporated.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Grab a couple of baking sheets and set them aside for now.
- Use a spoon or rubber spatula to fill a cookie press with chilled cookie dough. Press the dough out onto flat ungreased baking sheets. You can bake up to 2 cookie sheets at a time. Place any unused cookie dough back in the refrigerator while each batch bakes.
- Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- After the cookies are cooled all the way, you can dip the tops of the cookies in melted white chocolate, if desired. Melt the white chocolate wafers according to the package directions, dip the cookies, and then return them to the wire rack to let the chocolate set up.
Notes
- These are spicy little cookies. We liked the addition of white chocolate because the sweetness helped balance the spice, but feel free to leave them plain. You can also dust with powdered sugar after baking or with sprinkles before baking.
- Do not try to make these cookies on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, the cookie dough will not stick to them out of the cookie press.
