Recipes · Cakes & pastries
Spritz Cookies (German Piped Butter Cookies)
AI-written · not yet kitchen-tested
Spritz cookies depend on dough temperature: if the dough is too cold, it cannot be pushed out of the bag; if it is too warm, the ridges spread in the oven. So work with room-temperature butter, do not knead the dough for long and chill the piped sheets briefly before baking.
This recipe was written with AI assistance and has not yet been kitchen-tested. Check quantities and times as you cook, and follow safe core temperatures for meat, poultry, fish and eggs.
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 cup) butter room temperature and soft, not melted
- 100 g (3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp) confectioners' sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg large, room temperature
- 300 g (2 1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
- 30 g (1/4 cup) cornstarch
- 2 tbsp milk only if the dough is too stiff
Method
- Take the butter out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes ahead. It should be soft and give way under a finger, but not turn shiny and runny.
- Beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla extract with a hand mixer for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale and creamy. Add the egg and beat for 1 more minute.
- Sift the flour and cornstarch and mix them in briefly in two portions, only until a smooth, soft dough forms. If it is hard to stir and looks crumbly, work in 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk.
- Stand a sturdy piping bag fitted with a large star tip (about 3/8 inch / 9 mm opening) in a tall glass and fill it with dough in portions using a dough scraper. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe sticks of about 2 inches (5 cm) or rings of about 1½ inches (4 cm) across, 3/4 inch (2 cm) apart. If the dough turns soft in your hand, put the filled bag in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Chill each piped sheet in the refrigerator for 15 minutes so the ridges hold their shape in the oven. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) conventional, or 325 °F (160 °C) with convection.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden. The bottoms may be slightly darker. The cookies are still soft when they come out and only firm up as they cool.
- Leave the cookies on the sheet for 5 minutes, then let them cool completely on a wire rack. Store them in a tin with parchment paper between the layers.
Tip: If the piping bag tears or the dough barely comes out, the tip is too small or the dough too cold. A tip with an opening of at least 5/16 inch (8 mm) and a bag of sturdy material help.
Tip: The cookies are very good plain; if you like, dip the ends in melted chocolate after cooling and let them set on parchment paper.