Recipe | German Spritz Cookies (Spritzgebäck)

Today I am joining my sweet blog friend, Erin, at The Speckled Palate, for her annual The Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange. Erin invited other bloggers to her annual celebration of sugar and butter, a gathering of Internet friends around a virtual cookie table. Of course, I was in!

This year, we’re also raising money in support of Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to funding research for new, innovative, and less-toxic treatments for childhood cancer. Since 2008, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer has granted nearly $17 million to pediatric cancer research in the form of 100+ research grants to leading pediatric cancer centers across the country. From these grants have stemmed 35+ treatments available to kids battling cancer today.

What better time of the year than the holiday season to support such an important cause.  Here is the fundraising page, if you’d like to donate.

But now, let’s talk about the cookies!

I am sharing a recipe for some traditional German Spritz Cookies. Spritzgebäck is the traditional holiday cookie in my family. Everybody gets involved. My Mom prepares the dough, my Dad and the kids (first my sister and I, then my cousin, now my niece and nephew) make the cookies. My Dad used to have a manual meat mincer and cookie inset that he used for years and years, but they upgraded to an electric food grinder attachment for a stand mixer a couple of years ago (which makes it much easier). Everybody in the family brings a cookie tin that gets filled to the top with spritz cookies and in recent years, when I couldn’t go home for the holidays, my Mom always sent me some in her Christmas package. They’re always the most coveted items. 

Last year, after talking about it for years, I invested in a meat grinder attachment and cookie inset for my Kitchenaid to make my own Spritz Cookies for the holidays. 

The trick for these cookies is to chill the dough overnight, then prepare the cookies the next day by pressing it through the meat grinder into thin strips which bake into extra crispy, hard cookies.

If you are “team soft cookie”, I still recommend you give these a try. Maybe they’ll change your mind. Although, you will have to invest in the equipment first… but it’s worth it, IMHO. The cookies are crisp, but not too sweet. Just perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. Great for dunking, too. Our family traditionally makes them ‘plain’, but you can also dip one end into melted chocolate if you’re into that. 

If you try them, let me know if you enjoy them. Meanwhile, I’ll sit here with my nostalgia, nibbling on a cookie. 

SPRITZGEBÄCK (GERMAN SPRITZ COOKIES)

  • 500 g wheat flour
  • 250 g sugar
  • 250 g butter ((unsalted))
  • 1 egg
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pouch vanilla sugar
  1. Beat the soft butter until fluffy.
  2. Add the sugar and eggs and keep beating.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients and form into a ball. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in the fridge overnight. 

The next day:

  1. Bring dough to room temperature before proceeding (2-3 hours).
  2. Add dough to your meat grinder and press through the cookie attachment and line them up on your cookie sheet.
  3. Bake at 375°F for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
  4. Let cool down on a cooling rack.
  1. I am Italian and we love these cookies too! Especially dunked! Cool that there is an attachment, I will look for it and save your recipe!

    1. I didn’t know that there were similar cookies in Italy. So cool!

  2. I don’t think anyone can do Christmas cookies like Germans! I just visited a friend the other day who makes Linzer cookies and sends huge batches out to her children scattered across the globe.

    These look delicious and just like something my grandmother used to make. She didn’t use a meat grinder (I don’t think), but did have a specialized cookie press. They were so thin and crispy, not too sweet (just like you describe), and it always felt so whimsical to have an unusually shaped cookie (most North American varieties tend to be cutout or rolled into balls before baking).

    My mouth is literally watering – haha.

    1. There are so many shapes and sizes of cookies, but you’re right there are a little different than the usual cookie cutter Christmas cookies… I hope you make them sometime. And I love that your friend makes Linzer cookies. I haven’t made those in ages!

  3. Thank you for the bag – they are so good and almost gone :)
    Xoxo

  4. My husband loves spritz cookies. I haven’t made them for a while. Maybe I need to do that this year!!!

  5. Wow, these look really unique and delicious. How would I go about making them if I don’t have a meat grinder?
    I love the idea of the cookie exchange! I browsed through a couple of the previous years- really fun collections of cookies.

    1. You could use just regular cookie cutters, although the trick to get these cookies extra crispy is the “uneven” surface texture. There are also handheld cookie presses out there through which the dough can be pressed, however, the cookie dough has to be softer for that (so you have to let it warm up more at room temperature to be able to press it and then the cookies might turn out a little softer, too). Either way, something to give a try! :)

  6. My mom used to make these when I was a kid. She was a great baker & these bring back so many memories.

    1. Awww, that’s sweet! :) They’re definitely a childhood memory for me too.

  7. Did you say German cookie?!! Yes please! These look amazing and I cannot wait to try them!

    1. GERMAN COOKIE :) Hope you love them.

  8. Oh! Spritz cookies are a classic! When I was growing up, we had an old fashioned cookie press — I never knew there was a kitchenaid attachment!

  9. San, you are speaking my language with these German Spritz Cookies and I wish we lived closer because I want to come to your kitchen and experience the process with you! It sounds like such a fun tradition with your whole family, and I love that you invested in the equipment to make them because they sure look and sound delicious!

    Thank you for participating in this year’s Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange, sharing this recipe and helping raise some funds for Cookies for Kids Cancer! I am so appreciative of you and hope you and yours have an awesome holiday season!

  10. I’ve never tried using my meat grinder attachment for making cookies. What a brilliant idea! And these were simply delicious! Notice the “were” because they are already gone!

  11. Love love love the sound of these! One thing I have learned from having family live in Germany: Germans really know Christmas cookies! These sound perfect for the holidays.

  12. I had no idea there was a spritz cookie tool for the KitchenAid! These cookies are just what I crave during the holidays.

  13. How fun! Can’t wait to try.

  14. Always fun to see how much joy those cookies bring you. As you know I only ever had them once when my mom tried them. We were not convinced so they never made a reappearance. However I would come by for a cup of tea and taste yours. I’m sure you could convince me.

  15. These were so delicious and the perfect addition to my cookie trays!

    1. Aww, glad to hear, Debi. Thank you!

  16. These cookies are so good!

  17. My sister lives in Germany and has told me about these cookies! I cannot wait to try them (and pretend I am at the Christmas markets with her!)

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