Why you’ll love these spritz cookies
Spritz cookies have been a favorite of mine since I was a little kid. I honestly don’t think it would feel like Christmas without them. Unfortunately, the ones my mom makes have cream cheese in them, so this year, I was determined to find a way to make them dairy free. Thankfully, it didn’t take much to tweak the recipe to accommodate vegan cream cheese, and the flavor is spot on, in my opinion.
While you don’t necessarily need a cookie press to make these cookies, I highly recommend. I found a vintage one at a thrift store for only $1 and it still works beautifully. If I had to buy a new one, I think I’d try the OXO cookie press (affiliate link), but you can also make spritz cookies with a piping bag and pastry tip.
More dairy free Christmas cookies: pignoli cookies / vegan gingerbread cookies / pecan snowball cookies / fruitcake cookies
Ingredient notes:
- Dairy free butter – I tested this recipe with Earth Balance buttery sticks and Country Crock plant butter and I highly recommend using Earth Balance as the country crock ones spread significantly more and lost their shape.
- Vegan cream cheese – We used Violife cream cheese for this recipe and I have not tested it with another brand. Each brand will vary, so it could affect your results.
- All-purpose flour – I only tested with bleached, all-purpose flour. I added about 1/4 cup more flour than my mom’s original recipe called for to account for the extra water content in the dairy free butter.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Melissa’s tips & tricks
- Add some sprinkles – Make sure you add the sprinkles or sanding sugar before baking to ensure that they have a sticky surface to cling to.
- Color your cookies – If you want to make your cookies colorful, I recommend using a gel food coloring for best results!
- Don’t overbake – Resist the urge to overbake these cookies. Spritz cookies should be slightly pale with just a hint of golden edges when they come out.
More dairy free Christmas recipes
Ingredients
- 1 cup dairy free butter - 2 sticks, 226g
- 3 ounces vegan cream cheese - 85g
- 1/2 cup sugar - 100g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour - 300g
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch - 12g
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Measure your ingredients and make sure your cookie press is ready to use. Do not grease or line your baking sheets.
- Make the dough. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy.Then, add the vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and cornstarch together. Gradually add the mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing between additions until combined.
- Bake your cookies. Fill your cookie press with the dough and press cookies onto the ungreased baking sheet. For best results, follow the instructions for your specific cookie press. Top with sprinkles or sanding sugar as desired.Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until the cookies have set and the edges are slightly golden. Allow cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
