Easy to make and fun to eat, cream cheese spritz cookies are a Christmas classic that are a fantastic addition to any cookie platter.
I’m finally coming through with a Christmas cookie recipe, and it’s a classic. With a little Rachel Cooks twist, of course! I tuck these away in the freezer for all the upcoming Christmas events.
You’ll need a cookie press for this recipe – I’ve had mine forever but only use it at Christmas. This is the one I have and I have no complaints about it, but there are a lot of different brands to choose from.
Beyond the cookie press, these cream cheese spritz cookies are very simple. Lots of butter, full-fat cream cheese, sugar, flour. Paula Deen would be proud. You have to eat them while you’re sipping on your own homemade egg nog!
I add my own twist by sprinkling in some nutmeg. I adore the flavor that nutmeg gives to otherwise simple cookies. I always add it to my sugar cookie cut-outs. The nutmeg is what sets these apart from cookies you buy at the grocery store. It’s the ingredient that will have people asking for the recipe after they try one of these cookies.
Spritz cookies also a super fun cookie to have the kids help with because of the press and sprinkling on the sugar. I didn’t have my kids help because I’m the worst type-A mom ever, but for a mom (or dad!) with patience in the kitchen I’m sure it would be fun.
Fun twists on these Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies:
- Add different extracts instead of vanilla. Try peppermint (1/4 teaspoon will likely be enough, it’s potent), almond, or lemon.
- Add food coloring to make these cookies festive colors!
- Dip into chocolate for extra decadence.
Enjoy these fun cookies! Did I mention that they freeze beautifully? Cool them completely and store in an airtight container for up to a month. Take some of the pressure off by doing a little baking well in advance. I like to keep a log of slice and bake cookie dough in the freezer, too, like these crispy sand tart cookies, for easy last minute baking.
More great Christmas cookie recipes:
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies for Christmas
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2sticks)
- 1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened (full-fat is best)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- decorator's sugar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer and cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light in color and fluffy.
- Add egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Add flour, nutmeg, and salt and stir until all ingredients are combined.
- Using a cookie press, press the cookies out onto (unlined) baking sheets about an inch apart from each other. If desired, sprinkle with colored decorator's sugar.
- Bake for 15 minutes -- they will still be light in color when baked.
Notes
- Don't use parchment paper lined baking sheets for this recipe as it will make it very difficult to use the cookie press.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Should have read the comments first. Dough was far too sticky for the cookie press and extra flour didn’t help. Yes, I measured correctly. Yes, i used full fat cream cheese.. No, I didn’t use parchment. Tried the press both with the dough at room temp and chilled.
Sorry you had that experience! It always works out great for me so I’m not sure what’s going on.
This recipe is tasty. I substituted almond extract, and used no nutmeg, since our family preferred that taste for spritz cookies. However, it is so sticky! I ended up adding lots of flour so I could load into the cookie press without sticking. Wonder if the recipe would work better with 3 cups of flour?
What kind of cream cheese did you use?
I used full fat cream cheese, the best kind. Just checked the Betty Crocker recipe- fewer wet ingredients, and 4 cups of flour in theirs. Thinking more flour would make this easier in cookie press and just as tasty.
Hmm, you could definitely try those! I’ve tested these multiple times so I’m very confident in how well they turn out. If the dough is too thick, it’s hard to push through the press. Did you use parchment paper on your cookie sheets? It really doesn’t work with parchment. It could maybe have something to do with different kinds of cookie presses, too?
When making cookies with butter and/or cream cheese that become to sticky or soft refrigerate the dough until it firms up enough for the pressed cookies to hold their shape.
I made these for my husband after he had some at work one of the wives had made. I used this recipe except I omitted the nutmeg and added 1 teaspoon of grated lemon peel and 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice. They turned out fabulous. Thanks for the great recipe. Will definitely use again.
So glad to hear it! I bet they were delicious with your lemony twist!
Yay!!! This recipe worked perfectly!
I did half with vanilla and half with lemon and both are great variations.
Thank you for the yummy recipe!
So glad you liked them! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! Merry Christmas :)
Perfection ! Receive followed as written. Thank you for posting.
So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a rating!
Dough was too soft for my cookie press. Added an additional 1/2 cup flour which didn’t help, even chilled the dough. Had to cut each cookie from the press. But they tasted good.
Did you use parchment? It doesn’t work with parchment, because you have to put the press to the cookie sheet so that the cookie sticks to the sheet and pulls away from the press. It won’t stick to parchment…will stick to the press if you are trying to put it on parchment.
Sticky mess!
I’m sorry to hear that. These work out perfectly for me every time. Did you measure correctly?
I made this dough because I wanted that 8 oz of cream chees- but the batter was too soft to easily put in cookie press. I see other receipts call for 3 oz of cream cheese. What did I do wrong?
Did you use fat free cream cheese? Could it have been too soft?
I’ve made this recipes many times, substituting 1t lime juice for vanilla, and adding 2t grated lime peal (lemon works as well). This is a family favorite, easy to make. It is a Christmas tradition for our family.
I’m so glad to hear you like this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Easy and every batch was perfect. Our cookies looked like the photos in the recipe. Plan to make them again.
So happy to hear that! I made these this year too. :) Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!