• Preheat oven to 375°F. Gather all your equipment and ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.

Prepare the Dough

• In a large mixing bowl, cream together 1 cup butter (softened, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until well blended.
  1 cup butter, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Add 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon Princess Cake and Cookie Flavoring, and 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract. Mix until combined.
  1 large egg, 1 teaspoon Princess Cake and Cookie Flavoring, 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Gradually mix in 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour until a nice, soft dough forms. At this point, you may add food coloring gelof your choice. (For this recipe, I divided the dough and made 2/3 of it pink and 1/3 green. Mix in coloring gel with and electric beater or your hands until fully incorporated.)
  2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, food coloring gel

Form the Spritz Cookies

• Fill cookie press cylinder with dough and press cookies out onto an ungreased baking sheet. You may also use a silicone baking mat, but be sure the mat is completely clean with no greasy residue on it or the dough will not stick to the mat. The same goes for your baking sheet.
• Place the bottom of the cookie press flat against the baking sheet and click the handle once or twice until the dough adheres to the pan. Sometimes I click once, while other times, it needs two. If the dough design isn’t adequate, simply scrape it up and put it back into the dough scraps for another try. I usually fill my cylinder 2-3 times for this recipe.

Prepare to Bake the Cookies

• If desired, sprinkle the cookie dough with 3 tablespoons decorating sugar, nonpareils, or sugar pearls. Bake in preheated oven for 7-9 minutes until cookies are lightly golden along the edges.
  3 tablespoons decorating sugar
• Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. You may store the cookies in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2-3 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months. This recipe makes 30-36 cookies.