Spritz comes from the German word “spritzen,” which meant to squirt or spray.  After all, these little cookies are traditionally squirted out of a pastry bag or cookie press.  I don’t have a cookie press so I just use a large star tip and squirt the dough out of a pastry bag.  If you have a press it will most likely have several different tips for making different shapes.  These buttery little tidbits are a Christmas tradition.  My mother discovered the recipe when I was a kid and we had a cow.  “What a grand way to use up some of our wealth of butter,” she thought.  That first year, everyone we knew got boxes of spritz cookies for Christmas.

1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar (or you may use 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond flavoring
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C or Gas mark 5).  Cream the butter and sugar together well.  Add the eggs and flavoring and continue beating until well mixed.  Gradually work in the flour.  Chill the dough for about thirty minutes.  When ready to bake, fill your pastry bag or cookie press and form cookies directly onto a baking sheet lined with baker’s_parchment.  Bake for ten to twelve minutes or until pale golden brown.  Allow to cool completely before  putting in an air tight container.  These will keep for weeks.