Cinnamon Spritz Owl Cookies are as charming as they are tasty. These buttery spritz cookies are gently spiced with cinnamon and baked until crisp. A cookie press makes it simple to form a whole flock of owl-shaped cookies in minutes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
These Cinnamon Spritz Owl Cookies are designed to bring smiles. They also supported OXO’s “Bake a Difference with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer” campaign, which pledged funds to pediatric cancer research during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Recipes shared by bloggers helped raise awareness and donations to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Using a cookie press is great fun and very efficient. With one squeeze you can create many uniformly shaped cookies. The OXO cookie press is comfortable to handle and comes with discs for different shapes; the owl disc shown comes from a seasonal set. If you don’t have an owl disc, other manufacturers make woodland-themed disc sets that include owls.
Spritz cookies are a traditional German butter cookie; the name comes from the German word spritzen, meaning “to squirt” or press out the dough. They can be formed with a pastry bag or a cookie press. The dough must be soft enough to press through the disc but firm enough to hold a defined shape while baking.
Spritz cookie baking tips
- Cream the butter and sugar thoroughly. This recipe calls for creaming the butter and sugar for seven minutes, then creaming again for another seven minutes after adding the egg to create a light, crisp cookie.
- Mix in the flour by hand and stop as soon as it is incorporated. Overmixing develops gluten and can make the cookies dense.
- Press the cookies directly onto an unlined baking sheet. Parchment, silicone mats, or nonstick spray can prevent the cookie from gripping the surface and may cause the cookies to spread. A textured baking sheet helps the cookies hold their shape and bake evenly.
- Chill an empty baking sheet in the refrigerator while you prepare the dough. A cold sheet helps the cookies keep their shape when pressed and baked.
These owls are charming straight from the oven and don’t require decorations to be delightful. If you do want to decorate, even small additions can enhance their character: candy eyes, tiny heart sprinkles for beaks, or chocolate sprinkles for feathered wings or chests.
Decorating tips
- Avoid using puffy candy decorations that melt in the oven. Many Wilton and similar puff-style sprinkles and candy eyes are designed for use on frosting and can deform or melt when baked.
- If oven-safe candy eyes are not available, attach eyes after baking with a small dab of confectioners’ sugar mixed with a little water as an edible glue.
- Use oven-stable candy eyes and sprinkles when you want decorations to be baked in place. For added texture, paint a small area with confectioners’ sugar “glue” and sprinkle chocolate jimmies over it for feather detail.
These Cinnamon Spritz cookies are versatile — they don’t have to be owls. With dozens of discs available, you can adapt the dough to shapes for any season or celebration. Owl cookies work especially well for fall, Halloween, teacher gifts, themed care packages, and Harry Potter parties.
More cute Halloween treats
Try a variety of simple, festive snacks for Halloween or fall gatherings—pretzels, marshmallow pops, peanut butter balls shaped like pumpkins or cats, and decorated graham crackers all pair well with spritz cookies for a fun spread.
Cinnamon Spritz Owl Cookies
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Equipment
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cookie press
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owl cookie press disc (optional)
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ large egg beat 1 egg in small bowl, then use ½ for recipe
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Decorating
- Candy eyes
- Orange heart sprinkles (beaks)
- Chocolate sprinkles
- Confectioners’ sugar and water “glue” about ¼ cup sugar with ½ teaspoon water
Instructions
Cookies
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Preheat oven to 375° F.
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Place a cookie sheet in the refrigerator to chill.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon on high speed for 7 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
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Add the egg and beat for another 7 minutes, scraping the bowl every few minutes.
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By hand, stir in the flour just until combined.
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Fill the cookie press cylinder fitted with an owl disc with about half of the dough. Press cookies onto the chilled baking sheet about 1″ apart. If a shape doesn’t form correctly, remove it and return the dough to the bowl to reuse.
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Add candy eyes and heart sprinkles for beaks, using tweezers if helpful to place decorations into the dough.
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Bake for 5–7 minutes or until the bottom edges just begin to brown.
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Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Decorating
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To add sprinkle feathers, mix about ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar with just enough water to reach a glue-like consistency slightly thicker than white glue.
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Use a small brush to paint the sugar glue onto the wings or chest, then sprinkle chocolate jimmies over the glue. Allow to dry for about 1 hour before packaging.
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Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, these cookies stay crisp for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Place cookies in a plastic storage container and top with crinkled wax paper to keep them from shifting.
- Cookies can also be stored in freezer-grade zip-top bags.
- When shipping, pack the container or bag with cushioning so it cannot move inside the box.
Nutrition
The author received products from OXO to use with this recipe but was not paid for this post. All opinions are her own and reflect products she uses and recommends.