Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies for Christmas
Posted: 12/18/2017
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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:
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
-70 cookies
Easy to make and fun to eat, cream cheese spritz cookies are a Christmas classic that are a fantastic addition to any cookie platter.
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 Information
Serving: 2cookies, Calories: 74kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 27mg, Sugar: 7g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Kathy says
Im making this recipe tonight, but wanted to comment on when you change the cookie count you want to make. In increments of 30, the amount of butter needed goes from .5 cup for 30, 1 cup for 60, and 1.5 cups for 90 cookies and so on. However, on the same line for butter, as the amount needed goes up .5 cups for 30, the number of sticks of butter never changes. It always stays at 2 sticks.. The same is true for the cream cheese. It alwa stays at 8 oz. This could be causing issues if someone inadvertantly goes by this when they adjust the number of cookies they want to make.
Rachel Gurk says
Thanks for pointing it out! That has been fixed. :)
Andrea Genua says
Phenomenal! Just made these today. Came out perfectly!! Glad you said that they will be light when done. I would have baked longer and ruined them. Hubby loves them. I had never made them with cream cheese and I love them too. I also used my mom’s vintage cookie press from the 60s or 70s. She was looking down smiling on me for sure! Thanks Rachel!
Rachel Gurk says
I love that you used your mom’s press, how special! Thanks for taking the time to share a photo, they look great!
Jill Wagner says
Great recipe! I had wanted to try these but knew that sometimes they just didn’t work out! Worked beautifully! Merry Christmas!
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad they were a success for you! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
jenn fischer says
this recipe did not work for me. the dough was not sticking to my pans at all. all it did was smear all over the cookie press. I have a wiltons cookie press. I follwed the directions to a tee. very disappointed. I also have non stick pans. i was only able to get 2 pans worth which was not a whole lot
Rachel Gurk says
I think the nonstick pans might be the problem. The dough needs to kind of stick to the baking sheet in order to come off the press. I’m sorry they weren’t a success for you, I know how frustrating that can be.
Elizabeth says
Very delicious! No issues with using cookie press. Cookies came out perfect!
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
YORDANA J WYSOCKI says
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.
Rachel Gurk says
Sorry you had that experience! It always works out great for me so I’m not sure what’s going on.
Erin says
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?
Rachel Gurk says
What kind of cream cheese did you use?
Erin says
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.
Rachel Gurk says
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?
Sandy says
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.
Rachel Gurk says
So glad to hear it! I bet they were delicious with your lemony twist!
Jessica says
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!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked them! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! Merry Christmas :)
Em says
Perfection ! Receive followed as written. Thank you for posting.
Rachel Gurk says
So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a rating!
Kathi Valdizan says
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.
Rachel Gurk says
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.
Vicki says
Sticky mess!
Rachel Gurk says
I’m sorry to hear that. These work out perfectly for me every time. Did you measure correctly?
Tina thomsen says
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?
Rachel Gurk says
Did you use fat free cream cheese? Could it have been too soft?
Pat Foxworthy says
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.
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad to hear you like this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
LC Conklin says
Easy and every batch was perfect. Our cookies looked like the photos in the recipe. Plan to make them again.
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear that! I made these this year too. :) Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!