Gingerbread spritz cookies are buttery and spiced with classic gingerbread flavors in this easily shaped version of gingerbread cookies. This spritz cookie recipe makes more than enough for a crowd.
Although I don’t have a real deal gingerbread cookie recipe on here, I think I have more than enough gingerbread bases covered with gingerbread waffles (whole wheat!), gingerbread biscotti, and now gingerbread spritz cookies. Add spritz cookies to the list of recipes I grew up eating that has taken me an abnormally long time to share on the blog. They’re rich and buttery but modest in size, and come in a variety of shapes. Once you get in the groove you can crank out dozens in no time.
No matter how many times you’d shake your head at how many cookies were produced, there wasn’t ever the question of what to do with leftovers…because there weren’t any.
For years my mom had a trusty gold Italian cookie press that would make an appearance several times a year. The box was all but worn away by the end, but this cookie press would produce reliably, well, perfect spritz cookies. After making a few million cookies some mechanism gave way and we couldn’t find the exact kind for sale anywhere. 😩 But! With a few tips listed below, this version has made a great substitute.
Butter is still prominently featured in the base here as it is with standard spritz cookies, but gingerbread flavors like molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves join in to result in buttery soft gingerbread cookies without all the rolling and cutting. Ground white pepper may not be a traditional gingerbread spice, but it adds a warm flavor (without too much of a bite) that works SO well here. It’s one of the reasons I love pfeffernusse (spice cookies) so much.
Of course any shape of these gingerbread spritz cookies would be equally delicious, but there’s something extra special about festive shaped cookies. Especially when you don’t need to decorate them after baking! Which I mean, by all means go right ahead if you like, but I’m not awesome at decorating cookies (or cakes or any kind of dessert for that matter) so a little powdered sugar was just my speed.
I’ve seen cookie press discs come in both metal and plastic varieties. I prefer the metal ones, though some of the shapes seen here were from a super thick and durable plastic that wasn’t bad. This metal set features the snowflake shape along with others, and this plastic version includes the gingerbread man and gingerbread woman. I used the tree shape from the standard cookie press disc set, and I believe that’s where the bear came from, too.
Recipe notes:
- I recommend spraying the inside of the cookie press canister with cooking spray to help prevent the dough from sticking in there.
- Since you’ll have to reload the cookie press a few times, leave half of the chilled dough in the fridge while you’re pressing the first half. This way it doesn’t warm up too much sitting on the counter before it’s used.
- Press any “intricate” shapes first. The most chilled dough will be the best to hold shapes with extra twists and details.
Update: I’ve received some comments that the dough handles better unchilled or when chilled for just a short amount of time. Otherwise if it’s too firm, it may be difficult to press out into shapes until it warms up a bit. In my experience I found chilling the dough some was helpful to reduce a bit of stickiness (especially with the molasses in there) but once mixed up, see how it seems to you. You may wish to skip the chilling or cut down on the time.
Gingerbread spritz cookies are buttery and spiced with classic gingerbread flavors in this easily shaped version of gingerbread cookies. This spritz cookie recipe makes more than enough for a crowd.
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
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Cream together butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and mix again until combined and creamy.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, white pepper, and cloves until combined.
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Add flour mixture to the bowl with the butter/sugar mixture in 3-4 batches, mixing until each increment is just combined.
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Turn out dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and wrap snugly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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Once chilled, preheat oven to 375°F. Add dough to cookie press fitted with your preferred disk shape. Press cookies out onto ungreased baking sheet(s) about 1"-1 1/2" apart from one another.
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Bake in the center of the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until cookies are slightly browned around the edges. Let cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prep time includes 30 minutes for chilling the dough.
Spritz dough recipe adapted from the oxo recipe booklet that came with the cookie press.
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Toni says
Omgosh, this recipe is awesome. Came out just like spritz should, no refrigeration needed. I did sub my KAF gingerbread spice for spices and held back a little, but I won’t next time. A keeper!
Kim says
Can you make the dough and refrigerate for a few days before baking?
Alyssa says
Hi Kim, that should work just fine. Since the dough will be very well chilled, you may find it needs a bit of extra time to thaw some to be workable in the cookie press.
Mary says
Can you just roll them by hand and bake them? TIA
Alyssa says
Hi Mary, if you don’t want to use a press, you can roll them into balls and press on them with the bottom of a flat glass to flatten them. That should do the trick!
Kathy O says
This recipe turned out amazing! The dough was perfect and not dry at all. I find it helpful to weigh the flour instead of measuring it – 3 cups should weigh 360 grams – this helps ensure it won’t be too dry. (For giggles I measured 3 c first and weighed them – it was over 420 grams! That would have made a huge difference.) I added 1/4 tsp extra salt and 1/4 tsp ground cardamom and omitted the pepper because I didn’t have any. Be sure your baking sheet is cool and dry and they should spritz right out.
Barbara Cummings says
I will definitely be trying this recipe this year! I love some of your discs where did you get the boy/girl & teddy bear ones?
Alyssa says
Hi Barbara, awesome! They’re cute, aren’t they? 🙂 The teddy bear disc came with the oxo cookie press in its standard set (this one on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KkPdx1). The boy and girl came with a set (also from Amazon) that unfortunately seems to be unavailable currently.
Rebecca Felix says
If I don’t have a cookie spritz will this recipe work for rolled out cookies?
Alyssa says
Hi Rebecca, I don’t think this dough would hold up well for cutout cookies. It would likely be too soft and a pain to try and transfer to cookie sheets.
LuAnn Edens says
The recipe turned out very well. Very flavorful. The dough is sticky, but I found that chilling the dough made it next to impossible to use my one click cookie press. Worked much better unchilled, just a little messier. I will definitely use this for my go to recipe.
Alyssa says
Hi LuAnn, I’m glad you liked them! Thanks for letting me know about how the dough handled for you. Someone else wrote in saying the same, so I will add a note to the recipe. I hope you have a great holiday season!
Josie says
These look great! I can’t wait to try the recipe. How long will these cookies keep after baking? I just bought the oxo cookie press, but after reading your post I also picked up the gold marcato “vintage” Cookie press for $6 second hand! Going to give both a whirl and report back with the results!
Alyssa says
Hi Josie, they should keep for quite awhile in an air-tight container (a week? maybe more?) but they freeze very well, too. They defrost in 15 minutes or less and can then be decorated, dusted with sugar, or just eaten straight up. 🙂 And holy smokes, what a find!! That should be a pretty tasty experiment – can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Josie says
I made these today and agree with the last commenter, unchilled dough is better but they are delicious cookies. Re the device challenge OXO vs vintage gold Marcato, Marcato wins hands down! I know exactly why you put all the disclaimers on the recipe with the OXO, the quality just isn’t anywhere close to the Marcato. The Marcato comes out perfectly every click even with different discs. Thank so much for your family baking story otherwise I would have never looked for this vintage find! Happy Holidays x
Alyssa says
Thanks so much for your note about the dough! I’ll add a blurb to the recipe about that – interesting how it handles differently for different people. And you are welcome! I’m so happy that even second hand the Marcato held up to all my praise. 🙂 Happy holidays to you, too!
Kelly says
Would these be good to freeze?
Alyssa says
Yes, they freeze great! I freeze them without any powdered sugar/icing, and then take them out of their container and let them thaw on a wire rack until room temperature. That should take between 15-20 minutes or so. Then once they’re room temperature they’d be ready for any kind of decoration.
Laura says
I’m so excited to try your recipe! Spritz are my go-to cookie swap cookies because I can bake up a ton of pretty cookies in a much shorter time than any others. My sister did the trial and error to find a good cookie press and the one by Marcato (on Amazon) was her winner!
Alyssa says
Hope you enjoy them, Laura! I think spritz cookies are always a solid choice for swaps – the efficiency can’t be beat. 🙂 And so funny, Marcato was the brand of my mom’s cookie press from way back. I just checked them out on Amazon (thanks for the tip!) and they’ve modernized the look but I bet they’re still as good as ever. It was great how you could change the size of the cookies…the one I use now doesn’t have that option. I did just find my mom’s exact version on Etsy, but it’s listed as “vintage” lol.
Sues says
Gingerbread is so much more fun than regular spritz cookies! These are so cute 🙂
Alyssa says
Haha agreed! Thanks, Sues. 🙂