Spritz, Gingerbread men and buttery shortbread. All of them are holiday cookies all from different cultures. I will show you how to bake all these holiday classics if you read this article.

      Buttery shortbread

• ½ Vanilla extract

• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ Teaspoon of kosher salt 
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter 

1 Start beating the butter and vanilla extract together until creamed

2 Add the sugar and salt and mix until combined

3 scape bowl down and add the flour scrape the bowl again and mix until 

4 Shape the dough into a rectangle wrap it in plastic and let chill in the fridge for an hour

5 Preheat the oven to 350F and cut rectangles into half-inch thick slices

6 line the baking sheet with parchment paper

7 place the slices onto the baking sheet at least one inch apart

8 use a fork or skewer to poke holes in the top

9 bake for ten minutes rotate the pan halfway through

10 Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool

Gingerbread men     

• 10 Tablespoons (2/3 cup; 145g) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
• 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup (160ml) unspoured molasses
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 and 1/2 cups (438g) all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger (yes, 1 full Tablespoon!)
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium-high speed until combined and creamy-looking. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Next, beat in egg and vanilla on high speed for 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The butter may separate; that’s ok.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves together until combined. On low speed, slowly mix the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick and slightly sticky. Divide the dough in half and place each onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap each up tightly and pat down to create a disc shape. Please see the photo and description above in my post. Chill discs for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I always chill mine overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin. Roll out the disc until 1/4-inch thick. Tips for rolling– the dough may crack and be crumbly as you roll. What’s helpful is picking it up and rotating it as you go. Additionally, you can use your fingers to help meld the cracking edges back together. The first few rolls are always the hardest since the dough is so stiff, but re-rolling the scraps is much easier. Cut into shapes. Place shapes 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Re-roll dough scraps until all the dough is shaped. Repeat with the remaining disc of dough.

Bake cookies for about 9-10 minutes. If your cookie cutters are smaller than 4 inches, bake for about 8 minutes. If your cookie cutters are more significant than 4 inches, bake for about 11 minutes. My oven has hot spots and yours may too- so be sure to rotate the pan once during bake time. Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they’ll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested baking times.

Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once completely cool, decorate as desired.

Cookies stay fresh and covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Spritz cookies

• 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 3/4 cup (155) granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp almond extract

• 2 1/4 cups (293g) all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp salt

• Red gel icing color, optional

• Green gel icing color

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats. I don’t recommend parchment paper with these cookies. You want the cookie dough to stick to the surface you press them onto and parchment paper is non-stick. Set cookie sheets aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. You should be able to see the mixture lighten in color and get a creamy texture and know it’s ready.
3. Add the egg and mix until well combined.
4. Add the vanilla extract and almond extract and mix until well combined.
5. Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is combined, then remove the bowl from the mixer and finish combining with a rubber spatula, if needed. Refrain from mixing.
6. If coloring some of the cookie dough, divide it into parts. I used white, red and green, so I divided it evenly into three parts.
7. Use the gel icing color to color the dough. Add small amounts, to begin with, then add more as needed. You can always add additional color, but can’t remove it if you add too much. Adding too much liquid will thin out your cookie dough a bit.
8. Add one of the colors of cookie dough to your cookie press and follow the directions for your press to set it up. Hold the cookie press perpendicular to your cookie sheet and press out the cookies. They can be fairly close together since they don’t spread.
9. Decorate the cookies with sprinkles, if desired.
10. Bake cookies for 5-8 minutes. I prefer them nice and soft, so I went with 5 minutes, but feel free to increase that time and adjust based on your oven.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
12. Store cookies in an air-tight container for up to about 1 week.