Holiday Spritz Wreaths Recipes

HOLLY WREATHS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Gradually beat in flour. , Using a cookie press fitted with a star piping tip, shape dough into 2-1/2-in. wreaths 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until set (do not brown), 8-10 minutes. Cool on wire racks., Decorate with green cherry pieces for leaves and Red Hots for berries. Use red decorating icing to form bows and adhere candy to wreaths.

HOLIDAY WREATHS WITH CHERRIES SPRITZ COOKIES FOR COOKIE PRESS

Steps:

• With an electric mixer (can be done by hand, but it's a lot of work!), cream butter & cream cheese until light.
• Add the granulated sugar to butter blend and beat until light and fluffy.
• Beat in egg yolk, vanilla, and almond extract.
• In a separate large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt).
• Gradually blend in flour with creamed butter mixture.
• Chill dough for minimum 4 hours.
• After dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350°F.
• Add chilled dough to cookie press, use wreath shaping disc.
• Press cookies onto lightly greased cookie sheet or baking stone (baking stone recommended).
• Sprinkle green decorator sugar (granulated) over cookies.
• Add 1 cherry in middle of each wreath.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until slightly browned. Do not over bake
• Let cool on wire cooling rack before serving.

SPRITZ CHRISTMAS WREATH COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the salt, the vanilla, and the egg yolks, and beat the mixture until it is smooth. Add the flour and beat the dough until it is just combined. Pack the dough into a cookie press fitted with the wreath disk and press cookies about 1 inch apart onto cool, ungreased baking sheets. Brush the cookies lightly with the egg wash, sprinkle them with the decorating sugar, and arrange the cherry slices decoratively on them. Bake the cookies in batches in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are pale golden. Transfer the cookies to racks and let them cool. (Do not let the cookies cool on the sheets.) The cookies may be made 2 months in advance and kept frozen in airtight containers.

HOLIDAY SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Stir flour, salt and baking powder in medium bowl until well blended. Beat shortening, butter and powdered sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, almond extract and food color. Beat in flour mixture gradually until blended.
• Fit cookie press with Christmas tree or wreath plate according to manufacturer's instructions. Fill cookie press according to instructions. Press dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until set, but not brown. Cool 1 minute on baking sheet. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.
• Place frosting in large heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Microwave on HIGH 20 to 30 seconds to soften. Knead. Cut very small bottom corner off bag. Drizzle over cookies in a decorative pattern. Place candy bits from frosting in medium bowl. Hold cookie over bowl and sprinkle with candy bits. Let stand 15 minutes or until frosting is set.

PEPPERMINT-SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Glaze: Whisk together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Glaze can be stored at room temperature, with plastic wrap pressed directly on surface, up to 3 days; whisk before using. (Makes 2 cups.)
• Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter with granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolk, flour, salt, peppermint extract, and milk; beat to combine.
• Fill a cookie press with dough and fit with a wreath disk. Press cookies directly onto unlined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until just golden on edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer sheets to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Working in batches, add a drop of food coloring to a small amount of glaze (about 1/4 cup); use a toothpick to swirl a tiny bit. Dip tops of cookies in glaze, then turn glaze-sides up and place on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet to catch drips to set. (As you dip, colors will become more combined and no longer look like swirls; change to fresh glaze at this point.) For additional "swirls," dip a toothpick in red glaze and drizzle over cookies. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

TIE-DYE WREATH SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the almond and vanilla extracts and egg and mix until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour and salt and mix until just combined.
• Remove a quarter of the dough (about 1/2 cup) to a flour-dusted surface and reserve. Add the sprinkles to the dough left in the mixer and mix on low until just combined. Remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and gently fold until it comes together.
• Add the reserved dough back to the mixer bowl and add enough green gel food coloring to color it a vibrant green like a wreath, about 6 drops. Mix on low until the dough is completely green. Remove to a flour-dusted surface and fold with your hands until it comes together.
• Tear off 2 Ping-Pong ball-size pieces of the white dough and add to the barrel of a cookie press; add 1 marble-size piece of the green dough. Repeat this pattern until the barrel is filled (you will not use all of the dough). Place a wreath disc onto the cookie press barrel according to the manufacturer's instructions. Press the cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet and set aside. Repeat 2 more times in the same pattern with the remaining dough.
• Bake 2 of the batches until the cookies are firm but not yet browning on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool the cookies for 1 minute on the baking sheets, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Bake the third batch and let cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.