Chocolate Vanilla Spritz Food

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED SPRITZ

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture. , Using a cookie press fitted with the disk of your choice, press dough 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until set (do not brown). Remove to wire racks to cool. , In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; dip each cookie halfway. Sprinkle with crushed candies. Place on waxed paper until set.

CHOCOLATE-FILLED SPRITZ

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. , Using a cookie press fitted with the disk of your choice, press dough 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set (do not brown). Remove to wire racks to cool. , In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Spread over bottom of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies.

CHOCOLATE SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a large mixin g bowl until light and fluffy.
• Add mixture of flour, cocoa and salt gradually; mix well.
• Press through cookie press onto cool ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until set. Remove onto wire rack.
• Cool completely.

CHOCOLATE-PEPPERMINT SPRITZ

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325˚. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and egg until just combined. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
• Fit a cookie press with a wreath disk; fill with the dough according to the manufacturer's instructions. Press cookies 1 inch apart onto 2 unlined baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies, 1 pan at a time, until crisp and set around the edges, 18 to 22 minutes. Immediately remove the cookies to a rack using an offset spatula and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
• Once the cookies have cooled, make the icing: Combine the chocolate, heavy cream and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Stir until melted and smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir in the peppermint extract; let cool 5 minutes.
• Transfer the icing to a resealable plastic bag, snip off a corner and drizzle over the cookies. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Let set, about 30 minutes.

VANILLA BEAN SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and the zest, spices or almond extract (if using), and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour and salt until just incorporated.
• Load dough into a cookie press. Following the directions that came with your cookie press (models can vary), push the dough onto ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between cookies. Sprinkle cookies with decorative sugar.
• Bake until firm to touch and golden brown at edges, about 12 to 17 minutes. Transfer cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED SPRITZ WASHBOARDS WITH PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Make Cookies:
• Heat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Make Buttery Sugar Cookie dough as directed, with the following exceptions:
• Eliminate the egg.
• Substitute 1 cup confectioners' sugar for the granulated sugar and substitute 3/4 teaspoon almond extract for the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• Pack the cylinder of the press with some of the dough. Proceed according to the cookie press instructions. Pipe the dough in 3-inch-long strips onto a large ungreased baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Use a paring knife to cut the dough free from the cookie press.
• Freeze or chill the cookies on the baking sheet until firm.
• Bake until edges are pale golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Cool on sheets 2 minutes, then transfer cookies with a metal spatula to racks to cool.
• Continue to pipe, chill, and bake more spritz washboards in batches with remaining dough (pipe and chill on second sheet while first sheet is baking; cool baking sheets between batches and use fresh parchment paper).
• Decorate Cookies:
• Melt chocolate (see Cooks' Notes) in a deep metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove bowl from the pan. Use a folded towel to tilt the bowl slightly, so that the melted chocolate is deep enough for dipping the cookies.
• Put pistachios in a shallow bowl.
• Set cooling racks on baking sheets.
• Dip cookies, one at a time, in chocolate so that it coats about half the cookie on the diagonal, then scrape off the excess chocolate from the bottom of the cookie against the rim of the bowl.
• Sprinkle the chocolate with some pistachios and arrange the cookies on the racks.
• Let cookies stand at room temperature until the chocolate has set, about 1 hour.

FILLED CHOCOLATE SPRITZ

Steps:

• In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in the butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add flour and baking soda and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle., Using a cookie press fitted with the disk of your choice, press dough 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool., In a small bowl, combine filling ingredients; stir until smooth. Spread on the bottoms of half of the cookies; top with the remaining cookies., In a microwave, melt milk chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Let stand until set.