The title of this article contains the character ä. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Spritzgebaeck.
Spritzgebäck
Spritzgebäck is a type of German Christmas biscuit made of eggs, butter, sugar, and flour. When made correctly, the cookies are crisp, fragile, somewhat dry, and buttery. The German verb spritzen means to squirt in English. As the name implies, these cookies are made by extruding, or "squirting" the dough with a press fitted with patterned holes or with a cake decorator to which a variety of nozzles may be fitted.
Spritzgebäck is a common pastry in Germany and served often during Christmas season, when parents commonly spend afternoons baking with their children for one or two weeks. Traditionally, parents bake Spritzgebäck using their own special recipes, which they pass down to their children.
