It's the most wonderful time of the year!...unless you are a baker. Then it's the most painful for your feet time of the year! All the hours of baking? Oof. I can't feel my feet at the end of the day! But then again, when I finally kick my feet up there are so many cookies to enjoy!
I took the last week off my day job (only 12 more days of that!) and baked my little heart out. It was glorious. I am so excited for this to be my normal day! Also going to have to start running........and get a stick with a cookie on string......
My all time favorite holiday cookie will ALWAYS be the sprtiz cookie. I love my OXO cookie press. It's easy, it's fast, and looks beautiful. Spritzes are the perfect cookie. I can whip up a beautiful batch start to finish in 20 minutes!
For this new spritz cookie I went for chocolate almond! It tastes like a cherry bonbon! I took my favorite shortbread recipe, added a wee bit of dutch cocoa and a wee bit of almond flavoring. After they were baked, I added a chocolate almond glaze and some sprinkles!
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 tbs. dutch cocoa
2 tsp. almond extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla and almond extract; add dry ingredients and mix well.
Put dough into cookie press and press onto the prepared baking sheets. Place baking sheets in refrigerator for half an hour.
Remove from fridge and bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to a cooling rack.
Allow to cool before icing.
Chocolate Almond Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 tsp. almond extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla and almond extract; add dry ingredients and mix well.
Put dough into cookie press and press onto the prepared baking sheets. Place baking sheets in refrigerator for half an hour.
Remove from fridge and bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to a cooling rack.
Allow to cool before icing.
Chocolate Almond Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tbs. dutch cocoa
Mix ingredients together. Add more sugar or liquid until the consistency you desire is acquired. I used a very runny glaze, but you may prefer something more thick for piping!
Mix ingredients together. Add more sugar or liquid until the consistency you desire is acquired. I used a very runny glaze, but you may prefer something more thick for piping!
Lightly set the cookie top-side-down on the icing. Gently remove and allow excess to drip off.
Return the iced cookie to the cooling rack, sprinkle as desired and allow icing to set for roughly an hour.
Return the iced cookie to the cooling rack, sprinkle as desired and allow icing to set for roughly an hour.