OK whats the difference between sugar, spitz, and butter cookies....

I know its stupid but I have made butter cookies with my cookie press last year but I think they look just like spitz cookies...is there a real difference at all...and with sugar are they all somewhat the same.....

I love the texture of the butter/spritz cookie nice and soft but my sugar cookies never turn out right hard and dry

please help
Thanks

Now, I'm not an encyclopedia of cookie knowledge here, but this may help:

Butter cookies - get much of their flavor from the shortening in them being BUTTER, hence the name;

Sugar cookies - get their sweetness primarily from sugar, but the shortening can be crisco/lard/commercial (canned) shortening;

Spritz cookies - are a type of cookie made with a cookie press (I think perhaps the name "spritz" refers to the action of the cookie press, or maybe is the german word for "press"?).

I hope this helps you out.

Happy Baking,

Odessa

As far as sugar cookies are concerned you HAVE to try the No Fail Sugar Cookies. They are to die for.

Good call aobodessa for guessing that the word "Spritz" might be German!

Spritz or spriz (from German Spritzen, to squirt or spray) is a name for Scandinavian cookies which are made by forcing the dough through a cookie press. (That's Wikipedia.com's definition for Spritz)

I think Spritz and butter cookies are the same except that Spritz are made with the cookie press (being the good little Swede that I am I always put them through the press).

Love the NFSC! They are especially good with almond extract in place of the vanilla...yum!
Pam

Yep, I agree with Pam. I love almond extract in mine and I also put almond in my sugar cookes!
Jacqui

I may just have to go home tonight and make me some Spritz now...I was going to do it this weekend but I don't know if I can wait!
Pam

So the NFSC Do they really come out good and not hard....All I make are hard and as far as taste they just taste hard as well not very good..I might have to try that one..I really need a good one to make and I am using cookie cutters and iceing them this year..wish me luck and thanks so much....

I don't know, I've said it before but I'm not a fan of the NFSC. I tried the recipe again rcently and I still find Martha Stewart's recipe much tasteir. The trick to keeping them soft is not to cook them so long and the trick to getting them not to spread is to roll them between sheets of plastic wrap and chill. Use your cutters and chill again prior to baking.

Jacqui

Does anyone else like the Martha Stewarts recipe taseir and is this the one.

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe1266

I am also not a fan of nfsc I find them too crumbly and hard to roll so I usually add milk to mine. I also like soft cookies and I find if I roll them thicker before cutting then they stay softer.

My cookie gun has recipes for sugar, butter and spritz for the thing. hmmmmmmmm I just used to the recipe for spritz.

I have done the NFSC twice now, and both times mine have come out hard. I just thought that is how they are supposed to be? Then again, that only makes two times in my life I have ever made cookies ... so Im no expert .. I would love to use a cookie recipe along the same concept if they actually stayed soft .. but if they are soft, would the sticks in them hold them up? I really like making cookie bouquets thats why I was asking ....