Chocolate Spritz Trees Recipes

CHOCOLATE SPRITZ (COOKIE PRESS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat butter in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer until creamy; add sugar, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Beat until combined. Scrape sides of bowl down if needed. Stir egg and vanilla extract into butter mixture until just combined; mix in flour.
• Fill the cookie press with dough; press cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges of cookies are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

SPRITZ

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, vanilla, and, if desired, almond extract until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.
• Force unchilled dough through a cookie press onto an ungreased cookie sheet. If desired, sprinkle cookies with colored sugar. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm but not brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. If desired, drizzle cookies with Powdered Sugar Icing.
• Makes about 84 cookies. Powdered Sugar Icing
• In a small bowl stir together powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons milk, and the vanilla. Stir in enough additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make icing a drizzling consistency.

CHOCOLATE-PEPPERMINT SPRITZ

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325˚. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and egg until just combined. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
• Fit a cookie press with a wreath disk; fill with the dough according to the manufacturer's instructions. Press cookies 1 inch apart onto 2 unlined baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies, 1 pan at a time, until crisp and set around the edges, 18 to 22 minutes. Immediately remove the cookies to a rack using an offset spatula and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
• Once the cookies have cooled, make the icing: Combine the chocolate, heavy cream and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Stir until melted and smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir in the peppermint extract; let cool 5 minutes.
• Transfer the icing to a resealable plastic bag, snip off a corner and drizzle over the cookies. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Let set, about 30 minutes.

CHRISTMAS CHOCOLATE SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until well combined and light and fluffy.
• Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and milk. Beat into the butter and sugar mixture.
• Next, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Add the mixture to the butter and sugar mixture in thirds, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
• With the desired cookie press/spritz press attachment in your press, fill the press cylinder and press the cookies onto the baking sheet. (You will need to do this in batches.)
• Bake for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
• Package cookies in a food-safe container once the chocolate has hardened.

CHOCOLATE SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes on medium-high speed.
• Add vanilla and egg, beat to combine.
• Sift in the flour, salt and cocoa powder.
• Mix to incorporate.
• Gather the dough into a ball and refrigerate for 20 minutes or up to 5 days.
• Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C or 165 C with a fan).
• Fill a cookie press (I use OXO) with dough and pipe cookies onto a cookie sheet (not lined with parchment paper or baking mat).
• Bake for about 8 minutes.
• Let the cookies cool for 3 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool down completely.
• Dip in chocolate and top with sprinkles (optional).
• Store in an air tight container for up to 1 month.

CHOCOLATE SPRITZ COOKIES (GLUTEN-FREE!)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until fluffy.
• In a separate bowl, stir the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together. Slowly incorporate into the butter mixture using the mixer until fully combined and smooth.
• Load dough into your Cookie Press. Operate cookie press according to package instructions, pressing cookies onto a large ungreased cookie sheet. (The cookies won't come out of the press cleanly if your sheet is greased.) Sprinkle with sprinkles of your choice if desired.
• Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until set. Carefully place on wire rack to cool completely.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in your stand mixer, whip the butter and yogurt until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and whisk together again.
• Add the vanilla, salt, and cocoa powder. Combine this together well before adding the flour. It should come together into a smooth dough.
• Transfer the dough to a cookie press and put the press together according to the manufacturer's instructions. Holding the press perpendicular to the cookie sheet, press out cookies. If desired, sprinkle with decorations before baking. Chill for 15 minutes in the fridge.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies look set and are slightly pulling up from the cookie tray. Be careful as these can burn quickly. My oven needed only 9 minutes to fully bake them.
• Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the hot baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, decorate with frosting and other decorations.