• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place two large light-colored baking sheets in the refrigerator to chill as you make the cookie dough.
• In a large mixing bowl add butter and sugar. Use a hand mixer to cream together until creamy (about 5 minutes).
• Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix in until well combined.
• Add the flour and salt. Mix the dough until just combined. (Do not overmix.)
• If using food coloring, gently fold a few drops of the food coloring into the dough.

Directions for Cookie Press

• Add the dough to the cookie press with your desired shape, filling it with as much dough as it will hold. To start the press, double-press the first cookie so that there is some dough still sticking out of the press. Then, continue to press out the cookies onto the chilled baking sheets.

Directions for No Cookie Press

• If you don’t have a press, you can pipe the spritz cookies. Add a decorating tip of choice to a heavy-duty pastry bag and fill the bag with the dough. Before piping, make sure to remove any pockets of air in the dough. Pipe dough onto the baking sheets.
• If using decorations like sprinkles or decorating sugar, add as desired.
• Bake 5-6 minutes, or until the edges are set, but not browned.
• Let the cookies cool slightly (5-10 minutes) before removing them from the pan to continue cooling on a wire rack or parchment paper.
• Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.