The last two weeks: Cookies – to spritz or not to spritz, baking recipes, cookbook previews and more

December 3, 2021 by
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Spritz cookies are a type of German Christmas cookie made of flour, butter, sugar and eggs called Spritzgeback. The word spritz originated from the German word, “spritzen,” which means “to squirt” in English. This refers to pushing the cookie dough through a cookie press.

Spritz cookies

Spritz cookies are easy, they can add bulk to a cookie tray (making it look like you went the extra mile) and there are so many ways to decorate them. These crowd favorites only require a cookie press – OXO is my favorite brand and I have tried several. Helpful hint: there are always loads of cookie presses at the thrift stores. I also love the seasonal disk packs (Christmas and Spring) to make even more designs. If you want to make the cookies but don’t want to add another piece of equipment to your arsenal, you can make them without a press by rolling out the dough or piping it.

Cream cheese spritz cookies

There are 307 recipes (online recipes) indexed in our Library for spritz cookies. For more ideas on decorating and baking spritz cookies see the following articles:

German spritz cookies (spritzgebäck)

The last two weeks on the blog

Since our last roundup, Darcie has written these articles:

Darcie’s weekly food news antipasto is shared every Sunday and the tag #foodnews brings up these information-packed posts from the most current to the first one. Darcie can be followed on Instagram at darcie_bakes.

Darcie, Jane and I all contribute to our GBBO recap posts. All GBBO related posts are tagged #gbbo2021 and we will be back next year! Reminder: two holiday specials begin streaming on Netflix Dec 3rd.

Since our last roundup, I have posted the following:

Please be sure to check our Calendar for updated events. Our cookbook deals post is frequently updated and will include any special holiday deals as well so check that post often for new sales (the ICYMI post explains the post in detail). This week there are deals on print copies (US). My Instagram is thecookbookjunkies.

Jenny and the EYB Team

Recently Indexed Titles

Our team of member and pro indexers are working hard indexing titles, both new and old. Below are just a few highlights. Recently indexed titles will always show up at the top of the EYB Library and your Bookshelf so you will always know which titles have just been indexed. Recent indexed magazines can be found here.

Member Photos from the Last Two Weeks

Oatmeal dinner rolls from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine, Nov/Dec 2020 (page 15) submitted by anya_sf

Soy sauce chow mein with a fried egg from To Asia, With Love: Everyday Asian Recipes and Stories from the Heart (page 53) by Hetty McKinnon submitted by member Lots_of_fun_nyc

Have you uploaded any of your own photos yet? Learn more! Please remember to update your profile with your Instagram name if you would like to be tagged in any photos that we share!

Featured Online Recipes

Linzer biscuits from Great British Chefs – Chef Recipes by Anja Dunk

This recipe is from Anja’s latest book Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas (learn more and enter our giveaway here)

Adding Great British Chefs – Chef Recipes to your bookshelf gives you 5,105 recipes

Latke patacones from Food52

Adding Food52 to your bookshelf gives you 12,013 recipes!

EYBDigital Previews

Recently we uploaded our 1,207th EYBDigital Preview where a selection of full sample pages is available for the following cookbooks.

Learn more about EYBDigital Previews.

Note: To learn why you cannot add all EYBDigital Preview recipes to your Bookshelf, please read this Help page.

Cookbook Giveaways
Click on the Blue Link Below to Enter

  • Enter our US giveaway to win Modernist Pizza by Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya. Contest expires Dec 12th, 2021.
  • Enter our worldwide giveaway to win a copy of Mooncakes and Milk Bread: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries by Kristina Cho. Contest expires Dec 17th, 2021.

The cookbook giveaway roundup shares all current giveaways including those open worldwide and to other regions.

View Past Weekly Roundups

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8 Comments

  • bill_the_cat  on  December 3, 2021

    Thanks for the spritz cookie “reminder” … love them. I’ve been using a Mirro cookie press with my mom since I was about 5 or 6 years old. You’re right … they are always turning up in the thrift stores and they will last forever since they are made of aluminum, not junky plastic (like the Oxo, which I despise). Yes, it takes a little practice and finesse, but the “hand crank” presses work great and will be passed down for generations.

    • Jenny  on  December 5, 2021

      bill_the_cat – I have several cookie presses – some vintage manual presses, an Italian press and others. But I have to say the OXO works great for me and doesn’t feel like junky plastic – I think their products are improving (I bought the OXO myself a few years ago).

  • TeresaRenee  on  December 3, 2021

    I first met spritz cookies when I was a teenager when my mom volunteered me to help our elderly neighbour with her Christmas baking. Our neighbour called them shortbread cookies and it was only recently (about 40 years later!) that I realized that they are spritz cookies, not shortbread. I have made them every December since the year I first discovered them.

    Over the years, I have made many variations using this batter. If I don’t want to use the cookie press, I flatten balls of batter with an embossed cookie stamp. My favourites are creating a ball of batter and embedding a chocolate covered almond or Toberlone triangle into the centre. Butter + sugar + chocolate = delicious.

  • Skamper  on  December 4, 2021

    This article makes me eager to get out my cookie press! Yes, it’s one of the junky plastic ones, but it works fine and cost me all of $2.99 a few years ago. Some great ideas here – I didn’t even know color mist was a thing!

  • averythingcooks  on  December 4, 2021

    I JUST brought my mother’s cookie press home with me and am anxious to recreate the Christmas trees she made every year when I was a kid. This one is an electric version (but still pretty dated looking – a Proctor Silex “electric food gun” 🙂 but I also remember the old original aluminum one with the hand wheel on the top used to push the dough out – sadly it was nowhere to be found in her house As a kid, I tried in vain to mimic her single decisive turn of that wheel and smooth timing of the lift to create a perfect a tree each time…..without much luck I’m afraid. I can see lots of practice coming with this electric version in the next several days

  • annmartina  on  December 4, 2021

    I had the Proctor Silex food gun and I cracked the tube the first time I used it because my dough was too stiff.

  • averythingcooks  on  December 5, 2021

    Yes….exactly what I’m worried about. But I know mom did use it and I’m going to give it a try. I have a recipe from Elizabeth Baird (a well known and trusted name in Canadian food circles for many years) specifically written for cookie press cookies so we’ll see how it goes.

  • averythingcooks  on  December 8, 2021

    I am thrilled to report that the cookie press shortbread that I made from Canada’s Favourite Recipes was a success. The dough moved easily through the Proctor Silex Food Gun and they are a perfect match (taste & texture) to the cookies I remember from my childhood.

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