Gingerbread-spiced spritz cookies with crisp pressed ridges, delicate wreath and tree shapes, and a buttery cream cheese dough.
Room-temperature butter gives a dough that presses smoothly; melted butter blurs the ridges.
These are gingerbread-spiced buttery spritz cookies, with no molasses. Optional sprinkles and prepared icing are additional. Avoid adding liquid to stiff dough; check butter temperature and press assembly first.
Gingerbread Spritz Cookies
Per tray: 10–16 minutes · About 4 trays of 21 small cookies; press size changes yield
Allow 102 minutes: 30 hands-on, 0 chilling, 52 for all baking trays, 20 cooling. Cooling includes the pan rest. Optional decoration, ingredient warm-up and extra trays add time.
Kitchen tools you’ll need
- Cookie press with wreath or tree disks
- Two cold, bare 13 × 18-inch baking sheets
- Electric mixer and bowl
- Wire rack and thin spatula
- US measuring cups/spoons and digital scale
Gingerbread-spiced spritz cookies with crisp pressed ridges, delicate wreath and tree shapes, and a buttery cream cheese dough.
Ingredients
Scale ingredients and US equivalents, including eggs. Keep cookie size, thickness, oven temperature and baking time per tray unchanged. More trays add time; weigh beaten egg for fractional batches.
Cookie dough
Spice blend
Instructions
Mix
- Cream gentlyBeat softened butter, sugar, cream cheese, salt, vanilla and spices until smooth and creamy. Add egg yolk, then mix in flour just until combined.
Temperature
- Prepare cold pansHeat to 375°F (190°C) conventional, or about 350°F fan. Chill the bare ungreased pans briefly. No dough chill is scheduled: dough should be soft enough to press, without being greasy.
Shape
- Press small shapesLoad the press and follow its instructions to press wreaths or trees onto the bare pan, about 1 inch apart. Do not use parchment or a greased sheet: the dough needs to grip the pan. If optional sugar or sprinkles are wanted, add before baking.
Bake
- Brown the edges lightlyBake one tray at a time 10–16 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Check early for very small shapes and fan ovens. Cool the pans before refilling.
Cool
- Release before fully coldLeave 5 minutes on the pan, then lift with a thin spatula to a rack for about 15 minutes. Move before they become completely cold and stick.
Chef’s Science & Pro Tips
Pan grip matters
Press onto cold, bare ungreased pans. Parchment can prevent the dough sticking when the press lifts away.
A workable dough
Room-temperature butter gives a dough that presses smoothly; melted butter blurs the ridges.
Small shapes bake quickly
Check the smallest shapes first and bake each disk style separately for even color.
Storage & Make-Ahead
| Method | How long | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | Up to 5 days | Store fully cooled cookies airtight in a cool, dry place. Let icing dry, then separate layers with parchment; follow any icing storage instructions. |
| Refrigeration | Raw dough: up to 2 days | Wrap tightly, then let the dough soften until it presses smoothly. Baked cookies do not need refrigeration. |
| Raw freezing | Up to 2 months | Freeze wrapped dough airtight. Thaw in the refrigerator, then let soften just enough to load and use the cookie press. Do not roll this dough. |
| Freeze baked cookies | Up to 2 months at 0°F (−18°C) | For best appearance, freeze undecorated, cooled cookies airtight. Thaw covered at room temperature before icing. |
| Refresh | Before decorating | For crisper edges, warm plain cookies at 300°F (150°C) conventional for 3–5 minutes. Cool on a rack. Do not reheat iced cookies. |
Notes
- These are gingerbread-spiced buttery spritz cookies, with no molasses. Optional sprinkles and prepared icing are additional. Avoid adding liquid to stiff dough; check butter temperature and press assembly first.
Nutrition
Estimated per stated serving from generic ingredient weights and yield. Includes listed icing, fillings, candy and toppings; excludes optional extras. Prepared icing is modeled as sugar-based cookie icing. Brands, coating left over, cutter sizes and yield change the estimate.
RECIPE REVIEWEDGINGERBREADGINGERBREAD COOKIES
Frequently Asked Questions
A few helpful answers before you bake.
Why will the dough not leave the press?
Use a cold bare pan, not parchment or a greased tray. Check that the dough is soft and the disk is correctly fitted.
Do these contain molasses?
No. This butter-and-cream-cheese spritz formula gets its gingerbread character from the warm spice blend.
Can I roll this dough for cutters?
It is designed for a cookie press. Use the Cut-Out recipe for rolled shapes.
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