Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies - Quick and Fun Cookie Recipe! (2024)

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posted by Jessica Hylton on Dec 9, 2022 4 comments »

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5 (from 2 ratings)

These buttery vegan spritz cookies are a lot of fun to make, and they’re a lot of fun to eat, too. They’re cute and festive, but also rich, moist, and buttery.A perfect holiday cookie!

Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies - Quick and Fun Cookie Recipe! (1)

It’s not exactly a big secret that I love cookies. And these buttery vegan spritz cookies are some of my favorites. These cookies are super simple, and take less than an hour to make. But don’t let that fool you … the flavor is absolutely popping! With both vanilla and almond extract, these vegan cookies are sweet, nutty, and rich.

But my favorite thing about these cookies (other than how fun and cute they are) is the texture. Some vegan cookies are dry and crumbly, but not these spritz cookies. They’re moist and tender, and just soft enough to melt in your mouth, but just firm enough to hold their shape. These are one of my go-to vegan Christmas cookies.

Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies - Quick and Fun Cookie Recipe! (2)

Notes on Ingredients

These cookies only use a few ingredients, and they’re all items that you probably have in the pantry or fridge. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the article to see the exact quantities for each ingredient.

  • Vegan butter – Make sure the butter is unsalted, and at room temperature.
  • Sugar
  • Vanilla extract – You should use pure vanilla extract, not a product that uses artificial ingredients.
  • Almond extract – Similarly, make sure you use an almond extract with no artificial ingredients.
  • Salt
  • Tapioca starch – You can also use cornstarch.
  • Vegan milk – Whatever vegan milk you prefer will work for this recipe, just make sure it’s unsweetened and not flavored.

How to Make Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies

Here’s how to make these soft and sweet cookies.

  • Prep. Preheat your oven to 350F.
  • Mix the dry ingredients. Place the flour, tapioca starch, and salt in a mixing bowl, and whisk until well combined.
  • Cream the butter. Add the vegan butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until the mixture is fluffy, which should take about 3 minutes.
Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies - Quick and Fun Cookie Recipe! (3)
Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies - Quick and Fun Cookie Recipe! (4)
  • Add the rest of the wet ingredients. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and milk to the bowl, and beat until smooth. This should take 1-2 minutes.
  • Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and beat on the lowest speed until all the ingredients are combined. You want the dough to be soft, but not too sticky. Add more milk if the dough is too dry.
  • Rest. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • Prepare your spritz gun. Follow the instructions to prepare your spritz gun for use, then fill it with the chilled cookie dough.
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  • Dispense the cookies. Use the spritz gun to dispense cookies on a dry baking sheet. Leave about an inch between each cookie.
  • Decorate. Cover the cookies with the sprinkles of your choice.
  • Bake. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown, which should take 7-8 minutes.
  • Cool. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack, and let them rest until they’ve cooled.

Tips for the Best Spritz Cookies

Here are a few tricks to use when making these vegan holiday cookies.

  • Freeze the baking sheet. Occasionally the cookie dough will stick to the baking sheet. To keep that from happening, place the baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes before putting the cookie dough on it.
  • Don’t overmix the dough. When you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, make sure that you don’t overmix the dough. Overmixing will break down the gluten in the flour, and make the soft cookies hard and dense.
  • Freeze the cookies before baking. This dough is fairly wet, so sometimes the cookies can spread out too much when baking. If this happens, you’ll lose the great shape of the spritz cookies. To keep this from happening, dispense the cookies onto the baking sheet, then place the baking sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
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Recipe Variations

Here are a few variations that you can try with this buttery vegan cookie recipe.

  • Make it gluten-free. These cookies have just one ingredient in them that has gluten: all-purpose flour. If you want to make gluten-free cookies, simply replace the all-purpose flour with gluten-free 1:1 flour blend.
  • Add some colors. These cookies are super cute, and they look great when they’re colored. Add wet food coloring to the wet ingredients, or dry food coloring to the dry ingredients, to make these spritz cookies whatever color your heart desires.
  • Change up the flavors. I like the subtle flavor of vanilla and almond extract in these cookies. But if you want, you can add some different flavors quite easily, either in place of or in addition to these extracts. You can add other extracts, such as coconut extract, orange extract, or maple extract. You can add spices, like cinnamon or nutmeg. Or you can add citrus zest, such as lemon or orange. If there’s a flavor you want in these cookies, add it!
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How to Store Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies

You can store these vegan Christmas cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also store them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Can I Freeze This Recipe?

You can absolutely freeze this recipe. Keep the cookies in an airtight container, and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost in the fridge or at room temperature before eating.

More Cookie Recipes to Try

If you liked these buttery vegan spritz cookies, then try some of my other favorite cookie recipes.

  • Banana oatmeal cookies
  • Gluten-free vegan chocolate chip cookies
  • Vegan pumpkin cookies
  • Vegan sugar cookies
  • White chocolate macadamia nut cookies

Enjoy friends! If you make these buttery vegan spritz cookies, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!

Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies - Quick and Fun Cookie Recipe! (10)

Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies

Servings: 72 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 minutes mins

Chilling time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 48 minutes mins

These buttery vegan spritz cookies are fun to make, fun to eat, and perfect for the holidays. They're soft and will melt in your mouth, and are flavored with vanilla and almond extract.

5 (from 2 ratings)

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup vegan butter, room temperature
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, or cornstarch
  • 2-3 tablespoons vegan milk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.

  • Combine the flour, salt and starch in a small bowl. Whisk well to mix. Set aside.

  • Add butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.

  • Add the vanilla, almond extract and 2 tablespoons milk. Beat for 1-2 minutes more until smooth. Scrape down the bowl.

  • Turn to lowest speed and add the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. The dough should be soft but not sticky and you should be able to easily make a fingerprint in the dough. If the dough is too dry, add the additional 1 tablespoon of milk.

  • Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 30 minutes.

  • While the dough is chilling, prepare your spritz gun according to the manufacturer's directions.

  • Grab a portion of the chilled dough and roll it into a log shape and slide it into the tube of the spritz gun.

  • Replace the top and pull the lever until the plunger has pushed all the dough to the bottom.

  • Place the nozzle of the gun directly on an ungreased, unlined baking sheet at 90 degree angle. Pull the trigger to dispense a cookie. Repeat leaving about an inch between the cookies.

  • Decorate the cookies with your choice of sprinkles.

  • Bake in a preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, until the bottoms are just beginning to be golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

  • To keep the cookie dough from sticking to the baking sheet, place the baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes before using.
  • To keep the cookies from spreading too much in the oven, place the cookies on the baking sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
  • Don’t overmix the cookie dough.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week, in the fridge for 2 weeks, or in the freezer for 6 months.

Calories: 42kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 0.5g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 37mg, Potassium: 6mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 120IU, Calcium: 1mg, Iron: 0.2mg

Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

Author: Jessica Hylton

American Christmas Desserts Easter Recipes Vegan Vegetarian

published on Dec 9, 2022

4 comments Leave a comment »

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4 comments on “Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies”

  1. Sharon Reply

    Can you share what brand of vegan butter you used?? Thank you!

    • Gavin | Jessica in the Kitchen Reply

      Hi Sharon thanks so much for reading. We normally use earth balance stick butter. I hope this helps.

  2. Lisa Reply

    I had two of these cookie guns, NEVER used them. Gave them away, and of course, now I want to make these. Ha. Can I shape this dough into a log and slice off after chilling? Any thoughts on that?

    • Jessica Hylton Reply

      Oh NO – I know the exact feeling haha! Love that idea of slice and bake cookies, that should work for these too!! Enjoy Lisa!!

Leave a comment »
Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies - Quick and Fun Cookie Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a spritz cookie and a butter cookie? ›

What is the difference between spritz and butter cookies? These cookies are nearly identical, except for one ingredient: egg. Egg makes the Spritz cookie dough a bit easier to work with, but it also helps the cookies keep their shape when baked.

Why won t my spritz cookies come out? ›

Too cold and it won't release, too warm and your cookies may lose their shape. If you find the dough has gotten too warm, put it in the fridge for a couple minutes until it's at the right consistency. Once your dough is ready, simply roll it into a log shape.

How do you get spritz cookies to work? ›

Tips To Make the Best Spritz Cookies
  1. Cream Butter and Sugar. Be sure you cream butter and sugar well...it might take longer than you think! ...
  2. Add Your Egg. Add your egg ONLY after butter and sugar is fully creamed together.
  3. Avoid Overworking. ...
  4. Press! ...
  5. Skip the Grease. ...
  6. Decorate. ...
  7. Bake.

What happens if cookies are too buttery? ›

Too much butter makes cookies turn out just as you'd expect: very buttery. This batch of cookies was cakey in the middle, but also airy throughout, with crispy edges. They were yellow and slightly puffy in the middle, and brown and super thin around the perimeter.

What is the best cookie sheet for spritz cookies? ›

Insulated Cookie Sheets

Pros: Cookie sheets are insulated to prevent the bottoms of the cookies from browning too much or too quickly and are ideal for when you're baking thin or delicate cookies, or treats should be lightly colored, such as spritz cookies and shortbread.

Why do my Spritz cookies taste like flour? ›

Generally that floury taste can be attributed to several things. Too much flour, bad recipe, improper mixing or underbaking, but the most common culprit is too much flour. Too much flour is most usually caused by scooping with the measuring cup and is probably the most common kitchen mistake made today.

Should spritz cookies be baked on parchment paper? ›

Don't use parchment paper or non-stick cookie sheets for spritz cookies. This dough needs something it can stick to a little in order to come off the press. The cookies have so much butter in them, I've never had a problem with them sticking to a regular cookie sheet when they bake.

Should you use parchment paper when baking spritz cookies? ›

*Don't use non-stick cookie sheets as spritz cookies need to stick to the pan! *Also don't grease the sheets or use parchment paper. Spritz cookies release easily when made right!

Why are my spritz cookies tough? ›

Simply adding the flour to the stand mixer and beating it in runs the risk of overdeveloping gluten and giving you a tough or dense cookie (not what you want after all that work with the creaming). Instead, the best method is to add the flour and mix it in by hand, stopping as soon as no dry flour remains.

Why won't my spritz cookies stick to the cookie sheet? ›

The ungreased cookie sheet must be cold for the dough to adhere. If the dough will not stick to the pan, try placing the cookie sheet in the freezer for a few minutes. Do not use parchment paper or a Silpat mat. The dough will not stick when pressed.

Why are my spritz cookies going flat? ›

INGREDIENTS MEASURED INCORRECTLY

Common measuring mistakes like using too little flour or too much sugar can lead to a flat cookie, so always use measuring cups and spoons when adding dry and wet ingredients to your dough. Also, take note of how your recipe tells you to measure.

What happens if you use melted butter instead of softened for cookies? ›

Cookies made with melted butter often deflate and become denser when they cool, resulting in a perfectly cooked fudgy center — a similar textural result to brownies that get rapped (aka banged against an oven rack mid-bake to deflate them) or Sarah Kieffer's iconic pan-banging cookies that turn out pleasantly compact.

Can you use melted butter instead of softened butter? ›

Softened butter and melted butter are not the same. Using melted butter will change the texture of whatever you're baking. If you only want the butter to soften for spreading, microwave it on the Defrost setting (30%) in 5-second increments until it's softened as desired.

What can you use instead of butter in cookies? ›

Read on to understand how the following 15 ingredients can act as butter substitutes for different recipes and dishes.
  • MARGARINE. Margarine is a fat that is made mostly from vegetable oil that's flavored to taste like butter. ...
  • SHORTENING. ...
  • OLIVE OIL & VEGETABLE OIL. ...
  • COCONUT OIL. ...
  • PUMPKIN PURÉE. ...
  • APPLESAUCE. ...
  • GREEK YOGURT. ...
  • BANANAS.

Why is it called a spritz cookie? ›

The name spritz comes from the German word spritzen, meaning "to squirt" because the soft dough is squirted or pushed through a cookie press to make fancy designs. Butter is responsible for the tender, rich texture and flavor of these incredible cookies.

What is the difference between spritz cookies and shortbread cookies? ›

Spritz cookies have one additional ingredient that shortbread cookies are missing: egg. Adding egg yolk to the dough makes it a bit easier to work with and helps the the cookies hold their cute shapes.

Why are they called butter cookies? ›

Butter cookies, also known as Danish butter cookies, are cookies originating in Denmark consisting of butter, flour, and sugar. They are similar to shortbread cookies. The butter cookie is often categorized as a "crisp cookie" due to its texture, caused in part by the quantity of butter and sugar.

What are the 4 cookie types? ›

Here are the 4 main types of cookies:
  • Session cookies. These are temporary web cookies that are only present as long as your web browser stays open or your session is active. ...
  • Persistent cookies. ...
  • Third-party cookies. ...
  • First-party cookies. ...
  • User experience. ...
  • Advertising and marketing. ...
  • Analytics and web optimization.
May 22, 2023

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