Vanilla Bean Spritz Wreaths Recipes

VANILLA-BEAN SPRITZ WREATHS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
• Beat vanilla seeds and 1 cup sugar with a mixer on medium speed until incorporated, about 3 minutes (sugar will clump together slightly). Add butter, and beat until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat just until smooth.
• Divide dough into 3 portions. Pack 1 portion into a cookie press fitted with wreath disk (cover remaining portions with an inverted bowl or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before using), and press shapes about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake until edges are just golden, 9 to 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon with remaining 4 teaspoons sugar. Sprinkle over hot cookies. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Repeat. Cookies can be stored in a single layer in airtight containers up to 4 days.

VANILLA BEAN CUSTARD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place an oven rack one-third of the way up from the bottom. Choose a small roasting pan large enough to hold four 6-ounce custard cups, and fill it with enough water to go halfway up the sides of cups. Place pan without cups in the oven. Meanwhile, combine cream, milk, and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan; bring to boil.
• Whisk together the yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Slowly whisk in the hot milk until completely combined, then pour into custard cups, and place them in the pan of hot water. Bake on the lower shelf until the custard has set and is no longer liquid when lightly touched in the center, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, remove custard cups from the water, and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

HOLIDAY SPRITZ WREATHS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the sugar blend, butter and oil until well blended. Beat in eggs and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, allspice and baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture and mix well. Beat in food coloring. , Using a cookie press fitted with a wreath-shaped disk, press dough 1 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Decorate with holiday sprinkles. , Bake at 375° for 7-10 minutes or until set (do not brown). Remove to wire racks.

SPRITZ WREATHS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extract. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture., Using a cookie press fitted with a wreath-shaped disk, press dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Decorate with cherries. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks.

VANILLA BEAN SPRITZ COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and the zest, spices or almond extract (if using), and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour and salt until just incorporated.
• Load dough into a cookie press. Following the directions that came with your cookie press (models can vary), push the dough onto ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between cookies. Sprinkle cookies with decorative sugar.
• Bake until firm to touch and golden brown at edges, about 12 to 17 minutes. Transfer cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely.

VANILLA-BEAN SPRITZ WREATHS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
• Beat vanilla seeds and 1 cup sugar with a mixer on medium speed until incorporated, about 3 minutes (sugar will clump together slightly). Add butter, and beat until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat just until smooth.
• Divide dough into 3 portions. Pack 1 portion into a cookie press fitted with wreath disk (cover remaining portions with an inverted bowl or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before using), and press shapes about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake until edges are just golden, 9 to 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon with remaining 4 teaspoons sugar. Sprinkle over hot cookies. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Repeat. Cookies can be stored in a single layer in airtight containers at room temperature up to 4 days.

VANILLA BEAN PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Place whole egg and 2 egg yolks into a mixing bowl. Add sugar, corn starch, and salt. Whisk together completely until mixture turns from yellow to a very page creamy color and is slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Place milk in a saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape the cut side with a paring knife to extract the seeds (paste). Add the seeds to the milk. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until milk just barely starts to simmer and a few small bubbles appear on the surface. Remove from heat. Whisk hot milk into egg mixture, starting with a small splash then incorporating the rest. Pour mixture back into saucepan.
• Place pan over medium-low heat and continue to whisk until mixture begin to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool 5 minutes. Add chunks of butter and whisk until butter melts into the warm milk mixture. Pass mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove and chunks of cooked egg or vanilla seeds. Cover surface with plastic to keep it from discoloring; refrigerate until thoroughly chilled 2 to 3 hours.

SPRITZ WREATHS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pack dough into a cookie press fitted with wreath disk and press about 1 inch apart onto cool ungreased baking sheets. Brush cookies lightly with egg-white wash and sprinkle with decorating sugar. Arrange cherry slivers to form bow shapes.
• Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven until edges are pale golden, about 12 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes and transfer to racks to cool completely. (Cookies will stick to sheets if cooled too long on them.) Cookies may be stored between layers of wax paper in airtight containers up to 6 weeks frozen.