Piped butter biscuits (spritz) to bake with kids
Prep: 30 min · Cook: 14 min · Makes: about 40 biscuits · For:
These crisp, buttery biscuits are piped into pretty shapes and then half dipped in chocolate. They look like they came from a bakery, but they are made with just a few simple ingredients. In many European countries they are called spritz biscuits, from the German word for squirting the dough.
Tips
- Very soft butter is the secret. The dough must be soft enough to pipe.
- Chill before baking so the ridges stay sharp.
- Pipe onto paper, not grease. The dough needs something to grip.
Little helpers
Piping is fun for older children, especially with a biscuit press. Little ones can dip the biscuits in chocolate and do the sprinkles, which is usually the favourite job of all.
Ingredients
- 200 g soft butter
- 100 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg white (or 2 tbsp milk)
- 260 g plain flour
- 100 g dark or milk chocolate, for dipping
- coloured sprinkles or small sugar stars
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4) and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Beat the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and salt until pale and very creamy, about 3 minutes with an electric whisk.
- Beat in the egg white, then mix in the flour until just combined. The dough should be soft enough to pipe.
- Spoon the dough into a strong piping bag with a large open star nozzle, or into a biscuit press.
- Pipe small wreaths, swirls, stars and fingers onto the trays, about 3 cm apart. If the dough is hard to pipe, let it warm up a little or squeeze with two hands.
- Chill the trays for 10 minutes so the biscuits keep their pretty ridges in the oven.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden at the edges. Cool completely on a rack.
- Melt the chocolate, dip one half of each biscuit in it, and lay them on baking paper. Add sprinkles before the chocolate sets.
Questions
My dough is too stiff to pipe. What can I do?
The butter was probably too cold. Leave the dough for 10 minutes in a warm kitchen, or knead in a teaspoon of milk. Piping bags made of thick plastic or cloth are easier than thin ones.
How long do they keep?
In an airtight tin, about 2 weeks.
Can I make them without egg?
Yes, use 2 tbsp milk instead of the egg white.
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