German Spritz With Variations Food

GERMAN SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Make sure to place butter out of the fridge ahead of time so it will be soft and smooth.Allow the eggs to come to room temperature outside of the fridge.
• Whisk soft butter until soft and creamy.
• Sift powdered sugar and add with vanilla powder or extract to the bowl. Cream together untilwell combined.
• Separate the eggs and whisk the egg whites lightly.
• Add the egg whites and a pinch of salt to the bowl and mix well.
• Sift the flour and add, one spoonful at a time, to the bowl. Mix until everything is wellcombined.
• Fill into a piping bag with a large star tip or every other tip you prefer.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Pipe rosettes, the character "S" or other shapes of your liking.
• Bake in pre-heated oven on 340°F for about 12-15 min.
• Allow to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
• You can enjoy the cookies as is or decorate them with melted chocolate, sprinkles or fillthem with jam.

GERMAN SPRITZ COOKIES (SPRITZGEBäCK)

Steps:

• Add the very soft (but not melted) butter, sugar, and vanilla extract to a large bowl. Using your hand or stand mixer with the normal beaters, mix everything for around 4 minutes until creamy.
• Add the egg and egg yolk to the bowl and keep beating for 2-3 minutes until they are mixed in.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Give everything a quick stir.
• Switch your mixer attachment to the spiral dough hooks. Then add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in small increments while beating. Keep mixing until the flour is fully mixed in.
• Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. If you are using a piping bag (the same kind of bag also used for cake/cupcake decorating) or a cookie press, let the dough rest at room temperature. If you're using a meat grinder for this recipe, place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes so it can chill.
• Once the time is up, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
• Now, prepare your piping bag, cookie press, or meat grinder - we usually use a piping bag. You'll want to use a large star tip with your piping bag or cookie press. The larger the opening, the easier the dough will be to push through. Also, the softer the dough, the easier it'll come out of the piping bag.
• Now shape the spritz cookies. You can make whichever shapes you want. Circles with an open hole in the middle, S-shapes, or straight lines are classic choices for Spritz cookie shapes. Some people also like to write their names with the cookie dough. Just make sure to create the letters large enough (and leave enough space in between) since the cookies will rise/expand a bit in the oven.
• Place the cookies on the parchment paper and bake them one baking sheet at a time in the oven for 12-16 minutes until the ends are slightly brown. It takes exactly 13 minutes in our oven but since every oven cooks differently, your baking time might vary slightly. When taking the cookies out of the oven they might still feel a tiny bit soft - that's fine (as long as the bottom is lightly browned). They'll harden once cooled.
• Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and place them on a cooling rack.
• OPTIONAL: Once the cookies have cooled, you can prepare the chocolate glaze by melting chocolate chips either in the microwave, in a pot on the stove, or in a hot water bath. You can use any type of chocolate chips (depending on how sweet you want it to taste). We like using semi-sweet chocolate chips. Once the chocolate chips are fully melted, carefully dip parts of the cookies into the melted chocolate and then place them back onto the cooling rack (place some of the parchment paper underneath for easier clean-up). Let the chocolate glaze fully harden before consuming or storing them. Enjoy!

SPRITZ COOKIES WITH VARIATIONS (AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN)

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position; heat the oven to 375°F In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla with a fork until combined; set aside.
• In a standing mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and salt at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer running at medium speed, add the yolk-cream mixture and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer running at low speed, gradually beat in the flour until combined. Scrape down the bowl and give a final stir with the rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain.
• If using a cookie press to form the cookies, follow the manufacturer's instructions to fill the press; if using a pastry bag (see TECHNIQUE below). Press or pipe cookies onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet until just warm, 10 to 15 minutes; using a metal spatula, transfer them to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
• FOR LEMON SPRITZ COOKIES: Follow the recipe for Spritz Cookies, adding 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the yolk-cream mixture in step 1 and adding 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest to the butter along with the sugar and salt in step 2.
• FOR ALMOND SPRITZ COOKIES: Grind ½ cup sliced almonds and 2 tablespoons of the flour called for in Spritz Cookies in a food processor until powdery and evenly fine, about 1 minute; combine the almond mixture with the remaining flour. Follow the recipe for Spritz Cookies, substituting 3/4 teaspoon almond extract for the vanilla.
• TECHNIQUE: Filling a Pastry Bag: (1) Make a C shape with one hand and hold the piping bag. Fold the bag over that hand about halfway down, insert the tip, and scrape the dough into the bag. (2) When the bag is about half full, pull up the sides, push down the dough, and twist tightly while again pushing down on the dough to squeeze out any air. (3) Grab the bag at the base of the twist. Using the other hand as a guide, hold the top at a 90-degree angle about 1/2-inch above the baking sheet and squeeze to form the shape.