Gingerbread spritz cookies are buttery and spiced with classic gingerbread flavors in this easily shaped version of gingerbread cookies. This flavored 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 oxo cookie press (affiliate link) has made a pretty good substitute that gets the job done.
Recipe ingredients
Butter is still prominently featured in the base here as it is with standard spritz cookies, but gingerbread must-haves like molasses, cinnamon, ground ginger, and cloves join in to result in buttery soft gingerbread cookies without all the rolling and cutting.
This is great news to someone like me who is not very artistically-inclined when it comes to desserts. And that might be putting it mildly. 🙂
In addition we have all-purpose flour, brown sugar for additional sweetness, an egg for binding, and vanilla extract for a little flavor oomph. And that leaves the remaining spice – ground white pepper.
While pepper of any sort may not be a traditional gingerbread spice, it adds a warm flavor (without too much of a bite) that works SO well here. It really blends in and is one of the reasons that I love pfeffernusse so much.
If you’re not that familiar with spritz cookies the ingredient list might look like it’s missing something, but it’s not. These cookies don’t utilize any leavening agents like baking powder/soda or cream of tartar.
Step-by-step instructions
This cookie making process can be broken down into three parts: making the dough, chilling the dough (or not), and pressing/baking.
Making the dough is pretty simple. Start by creaming together the room-temperature softened butter and brown sugar. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients (molasses, egg, and vanilla extract) and mix until creamy and well-combined.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and spices, then add to the bowl with the wet ingredients in three or four intervals, mixing in each until just combined. The dough will still be a little sticky.
Here comes a decision point: chilling the dough or not. I always chill my gingerbread spritz cookies (not my regular or chocolate spritz cookies) for around 30 minutes as I find it firms up the dough a welcome amount and alleviates some of the stickiness that comes from the molasses. In the years since I first posted this recipe, I’ve received comments from readers who reported that unchilled dough performed better with their cookie presses.
My suggestion is to see how the dough looks to you and then decide. If you’re familiar with your cookie press and know chilled dough would be tough to press through the discs, then try chilling for less time or not chilling at all. On the contrary if you do chill your dough and find it difficult to press, leave it out at room temperature to soften up a bit until it’s ready.
Now for the pressing and baking. Ungreased cookie sheets are used here as all that butter in the dough helps prevent any sticking.
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, of course you can if you like, but a little shake of powdered sugar is all I usually do.
The following are tips that work with my cookie press, but they may not be necessary for yours. A lot of them play into whether or not your press prefers chilled or unchilled dough. With mine, dough that is too warm doesn’t hold its shape well, sticks, and mushes out of the canister.
- I recommend spraying the inside of the cookie press canister with cooking spray to help prevent the dough from sticking in there if that’s an issue.
- 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.
As for shaping these gingerbread spritz cookies, I’ve seen cookie press discs come in both metal and plastic varieties. I prefer the metal ones for their precision, 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 (both affiliate links). I used the tree shape from the standard cookie press disc set, and I believe that’s where the bear came from, too.
Recipe note
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
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (2 sticks)
- 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
Instructions
- Cream together butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl for a few minutes until smooth. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and mix again until combined and creamy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, white pepper, and cloves until combined.
- Add flour mixture to the bowl with the butter/sugar mixture in 3-4 batches, mixing until each increment is just combined.
- Turn out dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and wrap snugly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. See note on chilling vs. not chilling.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 375°F. Add dough to cookie press fitted with your preferred disc shape. Press cookies out onto ungreased baking sheet(s) about 1"-1 1/2" apart from one another.
- 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. Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container for up to a week. These cookies also freeze well.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Spritz dough recipe adapted from the oxo recipe booklet that came with the cookie press.
Gloria H Moore says
Hello. I loved my first Super Shooter until it died. Then I found several at resale shops and bought every one I found. Evidently everyone is not a fan. Thanks for the recipe!
Alyssa says
You’re very welcome, Gloria! Funny how everyone has their preferences. A smooth-running press makes all the difference.
Suzanne says
These look so good! Is the texture really like spritz?
Alyssa says
Thank you! Yes, tender and buttery.
Elizabeth S. says
Thank you for this recipe! I made several batches and they were all uniformly delicious! Easy to follow directions and an amazing flavor…You put a smile on lots of peoples’ faces! Again, thank you for your work on this gingerbread spritz cookie recipe.
Alyssa says
You’re very welcome, Elizabeth! So glad you liked them. 🙂
Bernie says
I think it really depends on your Cookie Press whether the dough is better chilled or not. I used a Pampered Chef one and it handled much better chilled. In fact I did much better putting the dough back in the fridge in between loading it. I did not get 10 dozen cookies. In fact I got less than 5. I think my press has a larger diameter than some of the old ones.
Alyssa says
Thank you for sharing your experience! The difference in cookie presses would make sense why some are finding chilled or unchilled dough better to work with. And yield, too!
Bernie says
I used a pampered chef cookie press and they were much easier after chilling (even a little longer than 30 minutes, even though the directions on the cookie press said not to chill dough. It was too soft otherwise. Any tips to make them a little crispier? I baked them 8-9 minutes and were still not as crisp on the bottom as I would like.
Alyssa says
Hi Bernie, sorry for the delay in my reply! Hmmm I know when I bake cookies on a dark sheet pan the bottoms become more browned/crisp. Maybe try using a darker pan if you have one and aren’t already?
:D says
Can you pipe the dough using a piping bag and piping tip?
Lorry Evans says
So, I’m dying to try this recipe! But my old Mirro cookie press doesn’t have the bear or gingerbread man! Thoughts?
I realize someone else may have asked.
Alyssa says
Hi Lorry, well these cookies will be delicious no matter the shape, but maybe you can find a festive disc set that will fit your cookie press? I remember checking last year and found that the set I bought that had the gingerbread girl and boy had been discontinued. I see on Amazon the oxo brand makes a metal Christmas set of 6 shapes (a bow, a star, the word ‘joy’, a snowman, a snowflake, and a santa face) that looks adorable.
Meera Patel says
What can I use if I don’t have ground white pepper?
Alyssa says
Hi Meera, if you don’t have white pepper, you can use a pinch of ground black pepper in its place. It’s bolder/sharper than white pepper, so definitely do less than the 1/4 teaspoon quantity of white the recipe calls for. I hope that helps!
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. 🙂