This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Cinnamon Spritz Cookies are a sweet, crisp butter cookie that’s reminiscent in flavor to a snickerdoodle. It’s a great way to add warm spice to classic spritz cookies and they’re perfect for holiday baking!
Cinnamon Spritz Cookies are a twist on the classic spritz cookie and are perfect for the holidays! Cinnamon adds a wonderful warm, sweet, spiced flavor to the crisp buttery cookies. Top them with cinnamon sugar before baking or dunk them in a cinnamon glaze after they’ve baked!
It’s December and that means it’s time to bake some Christmas cookies! I think it’s funny how we reserve certain cookies to only be baked at Christmas time, but I guess that’s what makes them so special.
Growing up a few of the cookies I remember helping my mom make were pizzelles, cut-out sugar cookies, snowball cookies or as we call them, butterballs, and spritz cookies.
Spritz cookies have always been one of my favorites. They’re buttery and typically flavored with vanilla or almond extract. The best part is they’re small. So when you find yourself eating 4-5 at a time like me, it’s really only like eating a couple normal sized cookies.
Anyways, I decided to take our classic spritz cookie recipe and change it up a little be adding cinnamon to the cookie dough. If you love cinnamon, you’ll love these cinnamon spritz cookies! The flavor is reminiscent of snickerdoodle cookies, but you still have that crunchy butter cookie texture.
Table of Contents
- What Are Spritz Cookies?
- Ingredients For Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
- How To Make Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
- How To Prevent Spritz Cookie Dough From Sticking To The Cookie Press
- How To Store Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
- Are Spritz Cookies Good For Shipping?
- More Of My Favorite Christmas Cookies
- Cinnamon Spritz Cookies Recipe
What Are Spritz Cookies?
The word spritz comes from the German word “spritzen”. Spritzen means to squirt, which refers to “squirting” or pressing the cookie dough through a cookie press.
Spritz cookies are a butter cookie. They’re similar to sugar cookies and shortbread in their crisp texture. One of the great things about spritz cookie dough is that it doesn’t need to be refrigerated before baking.
To make spritz cookies, you load a cookie press with the cookie dough and press it out through a metal disc with a stenciled shape cut out of it. The stenciled plate is what gives you the intricate shaped cookies.
Ingredients For Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
- all purpose flour
- white whole wheat flour (optional)
- salt
- ground cinnamon
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- egg
- vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- powdered sugar (optional, only used if you decided to make the glaze)
How To Make Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
Before you start making these cinnamon spritz cookies make sure that your butter and egg are at room temperature. Depending on how warm or cold your kitchen is this could take anywhere from 1-3 hours. I usually just let the butter sit out overnight.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed with the paddle attachment until the butter turns light in color and looks fluffy. This can take 5-6 minutes and you’ll want to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple times.
Add the egg and vanilla in with the butter and beat on medium speed for another minute or two. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once so that everything is incorporated evenly.
Combine the flours, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and then pour it in with the butter. Beat on low speed until it’s mixed in and then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat again on medium speed until the dough comes together and the flour is completely incorporated.
Attach whatever stenciled disc you’re going to use onto the cookie press. Load some of the dough into the barrel and then attach the top. Press out the cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet.
You don’t need to leave a lot of space between the cookies because they shouldn’t spread much. I usually leave about an inch or so of space between them. At this point you can bake the cookies or sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar.
Bake the cookies at 400° F. for 6-8 minutes or until they’re lightly golden brown around the edges. Let the cookies cool for a minute on the baking sheet and then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. You should be able to get 6-7 dozen cookies from this recipe.
If you plan to glaze the cookies, make sure they are completely cool before doing so. The glaze is simply a mixture of powdered sugar, milk (or water), cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and vanilla extract. Dunk the tops into the glaze and let the excess drip off. Place them back onto the wire cooling rack until the glaze gets hard.
How To Prevent Spritz Cookie Dough From Sticking To The Cookie Press
If you’ve ever made spritz cookies before, I’m sure you may have run into the problem of the dough sticking to the press and not releasing onto the baking sheet. Below are my tips to prevent this from happening.
- Get a good cookie press. Read the reviews before purchasing one. I currently use my grandma’s that was probably made in 1950, so I’m sure that’s no help. Through some research, I’ve read that this OXO cookie press comes highly recommended.
- Don’t spray your baking sheet with cooking spray or use parchment paper. The dough needs something to grip to and using those will prevent it from doing so. Trust me, there’s enough butter in these cookies that you don’t need to worry about them sticking to the pan.
- Pressing the dough onto a cold baking sheet can help. You can stick it in the freezer or refrigerator for a couple minutes. If you’re only using one baking sheet when making these cookies, make sure it has thoroughly cooled after being in the oven.
- Don’t let the dough get too warm. I stick mine in the refrigerator between batches.
- To be 100% honest, some of the stenciled plates just don’t work well and the dough always seems to stick. I have good luck with the tree, heart, star, and wreath stencils.
How To Store Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
Cinnamon spritz cookies can be stored in an airtight container on the countertop for 5 days. You can also freeze the completely cooled cookies for up to 3 months.
The spritz cookie dough itself can also be frozen or made 2-3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Are Spritz Cookies Good For Shipping?
Yes. Spritz cookies are great to send in the mail. They’re sturdy and since this is already a crisp cookie you don’t need to worry so much about it drying out. Be sure to package them in an airtight container and wrap it in bubble wrap or some type of protection against all the jostling and dropping during the shipping process.
More Of My Favorite Christmas Cookies
- Vanilla and Chocolate Pizzelles
- Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Chai Ginger Cookies
- Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Chocolate Orange Dipped Almond Horns
Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
Ingredients
Cinnamon Spritz Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar Topping (optional)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons of milk a little more or less may be needed to achieve the right consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. In a bowl whisk together the flours, salt, and cinnamon.
- Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and using the paddle attachment beat on medium speed until pale in color and fluff, about 3-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl 1-2 times during this process.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and beat again for another minute until incorporated scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway during the mixing.
- Pour in the flour mixture and beat on low until incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again until the flour is fully mixed in.
- Load the cookie press with some of the dough and form desired shapes onto ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired. Bake the cookies for 5-8 minutes or until they're set and lightly golden brown around the edges. Immediately remove the cookies from the baking sheet and onto a wire cooling rack.
- If you plan to glaze the cookies let them cool completely before doing so. In a small bowl whisk together the glaze ingredients. Dunk the tops of the cooled cookies into the glaze letting the excess drip off. Return them to the cooling rack and dust with cinnamon.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Your cinnamon spritz cookies look absolutely delightful! The way the aroma of cinnamon fills the house when baking these is simply unbeatable. I’d love to know your secret for getting that perfect texture!
These cookies sound delicious! I was wondering if I could use a piping bag with a large tip instead of a cookie press?
I haven’t ever made them that way, but I suspect it will work. You may want to press the dough down a little before baking as it doesn’t spread very much.