I make the spritz cookies every year as part of my Christmas baking. I use red and green cherries, which looks very "Christmassy" :-) You should be able to buy them at the grocery store. They are also called "glace (pronounced glass-eh cherries, I can't do the French accent thingy) cherries". I don't think I'd use a Maraschino cherry as they can be rather wet no matter how well you drain them.

Been making Spritz for eons, but I have the old crank handled press from my Grandmother. The sugar will often fall off when moving the cookie sheets to the oven - I've resorted to pressing it in lightly with my fingers. Or use the fall back wreath disc with cut up dried candied fruit for the bow; or the snowflake and put a maraschino cherry chip in the middle. My favorite is the camel disc - only needs an edible silver dragée for the eye. Yours actually look pretty normal. Truth be told, I've never tried coloring the dough.

I am Scandinavian, and the family Spritz cookie maker. What my mother taught me, and I have tried teaching my niece and daughter, is that what makes these different from other cookies, is that they are more sensitive to variables like temperatures and humidity. You can compensate for all these, by knowing what the dough should feel like. We made many, many, batches, and I taught them what each batch of dough felt like as the kitchen heated up. I typed up a detailed explanation to send with my niece a few years ago so she could remember. It follows. The cookies we call “sidewalks” are the flat ribbed ones. The best press to use is the old style “Mirro” aluminum press, the large diameter one. My Mother gave me one when I married in 1981, and I literally wore it out. Now I use hers. I have tried many others, none work as well. I see these sold very cheaply at antique stores or resale shops. I buy them whenever I see one. (The link is EBay, for $ 25, but I paid $ 8 for one at an antique store this summer) That way I can pass them on to my daughter or niece when they are really ready. +++ Spritz Cookies 1 c butter, unsalted, at room temperature (2 sticks) 5/8 c sugar, sifted 1 egg yolk (1 full egg for firmer cookies) 2 to 2 ½ cups sifted flour (more if 1 full egg) salt, pinch 1 t almond extract DOUBLE RECIPE (what I usually make) 2 c butter, unsalted, at room temperature (4 sticks) 1 ¼ c sugar, sifted 1 egg yolk and one whole egg 4 to 4 3/4 cups sifted flour salt, 2 pinches 2 t almond extract (Almond extract is very important to the finished flavor of the cookie: substituting vanilla will make a good cookie too, but the typical “Spritz” taste will not be there. ) Leave butter out to soften for at least 1 hour ahead of time, even overnight. Preheat oven to 375 F. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Sift sugar, add to butter, and continue creaming until very well incorporated. Blend in egg. Add salt and almond extract. Sift flour. (Measure volume AFTER sifting, not before. If spooning into cup be careful not to compact or deflate air that has been added by sifting.) Add flour gradually, ½ cup at a time, until completely incorporated. Do not dump it in all at once. Touch dough with fingertips. If it sticks to fingers, work in more flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until it no longer sticks. For upright-press cookies, such as trees, dough must be stiff enough not to stick to fingers. Softer dough with less flour is good for sidewalks or wreathes, using the star disc. If it sticks to your fingers slightly, it is good for sidewalks. If the kitchen is hot, the butter will be softer, and it will take more flour to make it less sticky. If the kitchen is really hot, and you will have to add much more flour, and the cookies will not be tender, but hard. Therefore, it is better to start with upright press cookies, then move to sidewalks when the kitchen is hot from the oven running. Fill cookie press. For upright press cookies: rest on 3 lugs projecting from disc holder head. Turn handle til cookie is the size you like, then backturn (retract) a bit to release dough. Tilt press backward on 2 lugs to break contact with dough still in the press and cookie. Afterwards, decorate with colored sugar, sprinkles, etc., before baking. For sidewalks or wreaths, press is held at ~ a 45 degree angle to the sheet. It’s useful to align the sidewalk plate in the disc holder so you can rest the press on 2 lugs. You extrude, backturn, then cut off with a knife. Bake at 375F until edges are light brown (usually 7-8 minutes, but watch carefully, thinner cookies like sidewalks take less time). Best to use cookie sheets that are light colored and air-cushioned. Dark sheets, like Teflon, make bottoms brown faster, which is not as good. Here is a link that might be useful: Mirro

I found the Eggnog Snickerdoodles on the cooking forum years ago. I made them last night and they were very good! I couldn't find Brandy extract so I just used cognac instead. I also added a little bit of cinnamon. Eggnog Snickerdoodles 2 3/4c flour 1 1/2c sugar 1 c butter, softened 2 eggs 2 tsp cream of tartar 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp brandy extract 1/2 tsp rum extract 1/8 tsp nutmeg Sugar mix: 1/4c sugar 1tsp nutmeg Mix butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Add flour, cream of tartar brandy and rum extract, salt, soda and nutmeg. Mix well. Chill. Shape into 1 tsp sized balls. Roll in sugar mix. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350° or until cookies are lightly browned. Yields 2 dozen. Recipe easily doubles with no problem.