Spritzgeback: Germany’s Sweet, Crispy Delight
Spritzgeback is a type of German cookie that is usually made during the Christmas. The name ‘Spritzgeback’ borrows from another German word ‘Spritzen’ that means squirting a material through a press made of holes.
The main ingredients in Spritzgeback are flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. As far as the taste is concerned, the cookies are crisp, delicate yet buttery.
Origin:
The origin of Spritzgeback can be traced back to the medieval times in Europe, most presumably the 1500s. Its successful predecessor, Lebkuchen (gingerbread) is said to have inspired the creation of Spritzgeback. Hence, alongside Lebkuchen, Pfeffernusse, and Weihnacthsplatzchen, Spritzgeback became another household recipe that was and is still enjoyed by citizens all across Germany during Christmas.
The popularity of the dish has brought along with it a multitude of variations in different countries. Each person adds his/her own touch while preparing Spritzgeback. Hence, today we will be looking at how the original Spritzgeback is made as well as how a variant of the original dish is prepared. The variant is known as Chocolate Spritz Cookies.
For Spritzgeback
Ingredients:
- 1 cup softened butter
- One large egg
- 2/3 cup sugar
- One teaspoon vanilla extract
- Two ¼ cup flour
For the filling:
- Jam
- Cherries
- Nuts
Preparation:
This recipe produces 25 cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Then line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat softened butter and sugar together. Add egg yolk with vanilla extract to the mixture and stir it well. Lastly, add flour to the mixture and mix all the ingredients till they are properly incorporated with each other. The final mixture or dough texture should be very smooth.
- Next, take a pastry bag with a star tip attached to it. Place the dough in it. Make sure that you only fill half or two-thirds of the bag, because otherwise, it will become difficult to squirt it out of the bag. Pipe ring or S-shaped dough onto the baking sheets. Make use of cold sheets as using hot sheets will result in the loose shape of the cookies.
- Make a small indention at the curve of the ‘S’ to pipe it with a small dollop of jam. If you want to make use of cherries or nuts, you can just press it directly into the indention.
- Last but not the least, bake the cookies at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for around 10-12 minutes. The idea is that the cookies should be golden brown in appearance when you take the tray out of the oven.
- Store the cookies in an airtight jar for future binge eating. Your cookies will stay crisp for anywhere between 1 to 3 weeks after they have been prepared.
For Chocolate Spritz Cookies
Ingredients:
The ingredients used for Chocolate Spritz Cookies are the same as the ingredients used for Spritzgeback as the former is a variant recipe of the latter. The only extra ingredients required for Chocolate Spritz Cookies are:
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
- One teaspoon salt
Preparation:
The following recipe produces 25 cookies.
- First, take a large mixing bowl. Add butter, sugar and vanilla cream to it and beat them well together until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add flour, cocoa and salt to the mixture. Mix all the ingredients well.
- Pour the mixture into a pastry bag and pipe it onto a cold cookie sheet. You can pipe the mixture in various shapes and sizes depending upon your choice.
- Bake the piped cookies at 350 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. Take the cookies out and lay them on a wire rack.
- Let them cool completely. Enjoy the delicious cookies with family and friends.
These cookies last for several days, so you can either keep them at a room temperature or store in a refrigerator as per your convenience. Easy to make and delightful to the tongue, these cookies come in various varieties. Instead of using only butter as the main ingredient for the cookie, you can accompany it with another ingredient. Some of these ingredients are:
- Almonds (use pure almond extract instead of vanilla extract)
- Chocolate (follow the recipe mentioned above)
- Coffee (mix instant coffee and pecans with butter and sugar while making the dough)
- Lemon (vanilla extract can be replaced with lemon extract)
- Peanut (make use of peanut butter instead of normal softened butter)
- Orange (include grated orange rind to the ingredients)
- Desiccated coconut (use desiccated coconut as a topping on the cookies)
It will not only give your cookies a beautiful appearance but also enhance its sumptuousness further. These cookies can be enjoyed by people of every age- children as well the old alike. Sweet, crispy yet soft, a recipe like this is truly a heavenly delight.
Not only on Christmas, but Spritzgeback is also that kind of cookie that can be relished on any day of the year. A simple recipe that yields delicious results, there is no reason for anyone to miss out on a cookie like this!