It’s still cookie season in my kitchen. Just in case you are also baking up a storm in your home, I have one more holiday cookie recipe for you.

Butter cookies have a classic nostalgia surrounding them, and I have fond memories of making them with a cookie press. I no longer own a cookie press, but wanted to keep the tradition alive so I discovered a baking trick — you can use a piping bag with a star tip to recreate the look. So, my last recipe of the year is a spritz-style butter cookie.

There are no shortage of butter cookie recipes available, but I found one that was easy to make vegan. I used vegan counterparts for butter and milk, and I replaced the egg with aquafaba. There were no leaveners to adapt so all I needed to do was add a little extra liquid to account for high altitude dryness. The last change was to make use of the piping bag trick. And, even without fancy baking tools, the tradition endured. But don’t forget another tradition … leave a few cookies for Santa.

Spritz Style Butter Cookies adapted from Butter Cookies

1/2 cup vegan unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3/8 cup organic sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 teaspoons aquafaba
1 cup + 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1.5-2 Tablespoon non-dairy milk
1 cup chocolate chips, for dipping

Prepare a large piping bag with a large star tip. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper and ensure you have enough room in your fridge for them. Set these items aside.

Add the vegan butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle blade. Beat together on medium-high until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and aquafaba, and beat on high until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer. Beat on low until just combined, then turn the mixer off and add the remaining flour mixture. Beat on low until combined.

Beat in 1.5 Tablespoons of milk on medium speed. You want a dough that’s thick but also creamy enough to be able to be piped through a large pastry tip. Add more milk if needed.

Once the dough is of piping consistency, add it to the prepared piping bag. Pipe the dough in 1-2” swirls placed several inches apart on a baking sheet. Chill the shaped cookies on the baking sheets for 20-30 minutes, then preheat the oven to 350F.

Bake the chilled cookies for 18 -19 minutes, or until lightly browned on the sides. Place the cookie-laden baking sheets on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cookies cool, set a few inches of water to boil in the bottom of a double boiler. Put the chocolate chips in the top of the double boiler and heat them until they are smooth.

Dip the cookies in the melted chocolate and top with sprinkles. Place the cookies in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the chocolate to set completely.

Dipped cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week. Makes 1 dozen dipped cookies.

Until next time, happy holidays and happy baking!