Cocoa Spritz Cookies
Flower-shaped spritz cookies with a chocolate cookie centre are perfect for drinking with a warm cup of tea or coffee in the morning. And they make a homemade treat to share with friends during the holiday season.
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When I was a kid one of the things I loved most about visiting my Grandma was sharing some cookies over a hot cup of tea. Her favourite cookies were these shortbread cookies or date squares. When I first made this recipe back from a cookie recipe book I grabbed at the grocery checkout over 20 years ago I was immediately transported back to those times.
Buttery cookies with a hint of chocolate in the centre… a match made in heaven!
This spritz cookie recipe is relatively easy to make but just require a few extra steps to make them into this pretty flour shape with a chocolate centre. All you need is a cookie press and a measuring tape.
What is a cookie press?
This contraption above is my cookie press. They all look and work much the same. You insert the dough into the tube of the press. Pick the disc with the shape you want, in this case, it would be the one on the left with 8 slits in a circle and a smaller circle in the centre. This makes a flower. Then secure it tightly by screwing on the lid and pressing the dough through onto a cookie sheet.
Ingredients you’ll Need
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate – I use chocolate chips but you can also use baking chocolate.
- Unsalted butter – At room temperature. Always use unsalted butter in baking so you have greater control of how much total salt is in the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar – Simple white sugar.
- Egg – The glue that holds everything together.
- Vanilla – A hint of sweet vanilla flavour goodness.
- Flour – For this recipe, I use all-purpose flour simply because we want a more solid cookie that easily will hold shape.
- Salt – Intensifies all the butter and chocolate flavours in this cookie.
how to make cocoa spritz cookies
- In a large bowl beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla and eggs and continue to beat until smooth.
- In a medium bowl add the flour and salt and mix.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on high until all the flour is mixed in.
- Remove two cups of batter and set aside in a small bowl.
- To make the chocolate centre, melt 1 oz of bittersweet chocolate in the microwave on low or the “melt” setting for 30 seconds. Mix and if not melted microwave on low again for another 15 seconds. Stir until melted. Do not overheat the chocolate or it will burn and be unusable.
- Add the chocolate the the remaining cookie batter left in the mixing bowl and beat with the hand mixer until combined.
- Cover both bowls of cookie batter with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
- Once the dough is chilled and less sticky roll the butter cookie batter out on a lightly floured surface to about a 1/2″ thickness the closest shape you can to a rectangle.
- Using a ruler or measuring tape cut out 4″ X 5″ pieces and set them aside.
- Then roll the chocolate cookie batter out into a thin log about an inch in diameter and cut into 5″ long pieces.
- Place the chocolate batter roll on the long side of one of the butter cookie rectangles. Wrap the butter cookie dough around the chocolate batter log and gently press to seal. You will end up with it looking sort of like a sausage roll.
Now I am not sure how your cookie press works but generally, they are very similar.
- Open the end of the cookie press tube and insert one of the cookie rollups. Then insert the disk with the 8-pronged flower shape as shown above or the most similar to it. You will want one with a hole in the centre. This is where the chocolate batter will come out to give that chocolate cookie centre.
- Seal the tube back up and then press the cookie press plunger to squeeze out the shaped cookie batter onto an unlined non-stick cookie sheet.
- Bake at 375ºF for about 6 minutes or until cookies are firm and just starting to turn slightly golden brown on the bottom.
Should the cookie sheet be lined?
I do not recommend having any parchment paper on the cookie sheet for this recipe because the cookie dough won’t stick to it and you will never get these shapes. I have heard that silicone mats work well but never use them so it is up to you if you wish to try. The worst thing that can happen is that you mess up a few cookies because the batter gets all bunched up from not adhering to the cookie sheet.
But if you aren’t picky you can still reuse the dough it will just not have that clear chocolate centre and the cookies will look like a marble combo of butter and chocolate cookie.
Variations
There are a million different ways you can make Spritz Cookies and this is just one version of 100s of combinations. Remember that cookie press? Well, it likely comes with a handful of discs so that is just the shape. But with the original buttery base before adding the chocolate you can be as creative as you like:
- Make them all chocolate or all vanilla
- Use different shaped disks and play with all the possible shapes
- Change the colour by adding a few drops of food colouring to the dough
- Add sprinkles
- Top with icing
- Try adding a hint of strawberry puree or a few drops of artificial flavourings
So many fun combinations to try!
Storage and Freezing
These buttery spritz cookies can be stored in a tightly sealed container on the counter for up to 5 days but I personally like to freeze them after about a day when I have had my fill and just pull them out when I want some.
Since they are fairly small and dainty they don’t take long to thaw.
They will freeze well for up to 3 months.
Cocoa Spritz Cookie Recipe
Equipment
- Oven
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Medium Mixing Bowl
- Hand-mixer or stand mixer
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Rolling Pin
- Measuring tape or ruler
- Non-stick cookie sheet
- Cookie press with flower-shaped insert
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 oz semi-sweet chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. In a large bowl add the butter and sugar and beat with a hand mixer on high until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and continue to mix until blended.
- In a medium bowl add the flour and salt and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and continue to blend with the hand-mixer. Remove 2 cups of the batter into a separate bowl.
- In a small bowl add the semi-sweet chocolate and microwave on low heat for 30 seconds at a time mixing each time until melted. Add the chocolate to the remaining cookie batter and mix until blended. Cover both bowls of cookie batter with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the vanilla batter and roll out to a rectangle that is 1/2" thick. Cut the dough into 4" X 5" rectangles and set aside. Roll the chocolate dough into a 1" diameter stick and then cut into 5" lengths. Place the chocolate stick along the long edge of the vanilla dough rectangle and roll so that the chocolate is in the centre of the white dough and press gently to seal.
- Insert one of the cookie rolls into the cookie press and insert the flower-shaped disc. Seal and press the cookies using the cookie press onto a non-stick cookie sheet. Bake for 5-6 minutes or until cookies are slightly golden brown on the bottom. Remove and carefully transfer to a cooling rack.
Nutrition
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Thank you so much for this recipe! We loved it. It came out so well.
I have been looking for the perfect cookie to make for my niece’s bridal shower. Just found them! These are so pretty!
They will be perfect!
These are really adorable and so easy to make!! Thanks for the recipe!
What beautiful looking cookies. These would make really cute gifts.
I love spritz cookies ad can’t wait to try these cocoa ones! My mom has two spritz guns so she can make cookies double handed – ha!