Tie-dye wreath spritz cookies are pressed butter cookies marbled green and studded with red sprinkles, shaped with a wreath disc. That makes them a quick Christmas cookie for a cookie exchange or a gift tin, since the pattern comes from the press rather than decorating. Makes 45 to 50.
The method tells you to tear off pieces of the white dough, but no white dough was ever made. It means the sprinkled portion, which stays pale with red flecks, so load two of those against one piece of green.
The dough is split three parts to one, then used at a far wider ratio than that. Two ping pong balls of sprinkled dough against one marble of green leaves most of the green unused. Make the green pieces walnut sized instead.
Tie-Dye Wreath Spritz Cookies
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalA plain butter and almond dough split in two, one part folded with red sprinkles and the other tinted deep green. Both are layered into a cookie press so the wreath disc marbles them.
Ingredients
- For the Cookies:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- For Coloring:
1/4 cup red sprinkles, preferably jimmies
Green gel food coloring, such as leaf green
Directions
- Cream and mix: Set oven racks in the upper and lower thirds and heat to 350 degrees F. Beat the butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the almond and vanilla extracts and the egg, then add the flour and salt on low and stop as soon as it comes together.
- Make the sprinkled dough: Lift a quarter of the dough onto a floured surface and set it aside. Add the sprinkles to the dough still in the bowl and mix on low until just combined, then turn it out and fold it together by hand. This is the pale dough the original calls white.
- Make the green dough: Put the reserved quarter back in the mixer with about 6 drops of green gel coloring and mix on low until the color is even. Turn it out and fold it by hand until smooth.
- Load the press: Fit the press with a wreath disc. Drop in two ping pong sized pieces of the sprinkled dough, then one walnut sized piece of the green, and repeat until the barrel is full. A marble of green, as the original says, barely shows in the finished cookie.
- Press and bake: Press the cookies onto bare, cool, ungreased baking sheets. Bake two sheets at a time for 8 to 10 minutes, until firm but not browning underneath. Rest them 1 minute on the sheet, then cool completely on a rack and repeat with the rest.
Notes
- The original method refers to white dough that it never makes. It means the sprinkled portion. It also splits the dough three to one and then uses far more sprinkled than green, so make the green pieces larger than a marble if you want the wreath to look green.
FAQs
Do I need a wreath disc for the press?
Most cookie press sets include one, and it is the ring shape with the ridged edge. A plain round or star disc works, though the cookie stops reading as a wreath. The marbling happens regardless of which disc you use.
Why are the sprinkles in the dough and not on top?
Folded through the dough, they become red berries scattered inside the wreath rather than a coating on top. They also survive the oven better buried in dough. Use jimmies rather than nonpareils, since the small round ones bleed their color.
Why gel coloring and not liquid?
Gel is concentrated, so six drops colors a quarter of the dough without thinning it. Liquid coloring adds water, and a wetter dough will not hold its shape coming out of the press. Six drops of gel gets you a true wreath green.
What do I do with the leftover dough?
The recipe admits you will not use it all, so do not fight it. Roll the rest into balls, flatten them and bake them as plain cookies alongside. Or roll them in sprinkles and press them flat like these smashed sugar cookies.
How long do they keep?
A week in an airtight container, which the recipe states, and they freeze baked for three months. A dry butter cookie keeps far better than a soft one. Store them the same way as this Panera shortbread cookie, flat and airtight.
