Nannie's Christmas Sprtiz Cookies

It's been a while since I've posted anything food related so I figured I'd post a special treat today... my Nannie's recipe for Christmas Spritz Cookies. These little bites of joy are my absolute favorite cookie. And for someone who eats/sleeps/breathes anything chocolate, that's saying something.


2 1/4 cups flour (all-purpose works just fine)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.


In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and egg yolk and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla. In thirds, add the dry ingredients. For holiday cookies -- Divide dough into two sections. Color half red and the other half green. Use approximately 6-8 drops of food coloring to achieve desired color.


Fill a cookie press with dough and press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with colored sugar to decorate. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and bottoms. Immediately remove from cookie sheet and cool.


This recipe makes about 4.5 dozen cookies. (And they're only about 70 calories each!)

Photo from Wilton.com (I'm kicking myself for not snapping photos of the cookies I made!)

It's a family tradition to get together and bake Christmas cookies so while I was home for Thanksgiving, my mom, sister and I whipped these up along with some sugar cookies. I love love love this time of year -- spending quality time with friends and family and enjoying the sights and smells of the holiday. What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?


Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
xoxo,
L