Swedish Spritz

• Makes: Approx. 40 cookies.
• Hands on Time: 45 min
• Chilling and Baking Time: 40+ min

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups salted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, well beaten
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 ½ to 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

Steps:

1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment and set aside.
2. Cream the butter briefly, then beat in the sugar thoroughly. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
3. Combine the flour and baking powder (and any spices you might be adding – see variations). Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix until you have a smooth dough. Do not over mix.
4. If using a cookie, press force the dough through a cookie press now. If not using a cookie press, shape it into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes before rolling out and cutting. If you are having trouble getting the dough to come away from the press and separate cleanly when forming the cookies, you probably need to add a little more flour to the dough. In this case, gather the dough back together and knead in by hand another ¼ to ½ cup of flour. Cookies should be about 1½ inches apart on the cookie sheet. Add decorations as desired and chill the cookies on the sheet for at least 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400F. Bake the chilled cookies until set but not brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Keep an eye on these – they burn easily.

Variations:

• You can also play with this recipe by adding spice, to taste, along with the flour – cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger, or a combination. A teaspoon or so should be enough.
• I have also used this dough to wrap around the small Lindt Lindor chocolate balls for a cookie with a surprise. Bake as above.