Spritz -- The Advent Cookie That Keeps the Rhythm of Christmas Going

Chemo week is done. Sean was rough Tuesday through Thursday. He slept. He ate the porridge. He ate the broth. He went off the porridge on Friday and wanted toast and then wanted eggs and then wanted a full dinner. We got him a full dinner Sunday — pot roast, mashed, gravy, peas — and he ate most of his plate and said "I missed that." We are cycling through the on-chemo week and the off-chemo weeks. The off-weeks are relatively better. I have learned to move the important things into the off-weeks. The preschool pageant is an off-week event. Christmas Eve is an off-week event. Christmas Day is an off-week event. Through careful scheduling, the family life is happening in the weeks the chemo is not.

Liam's preschool pageant was Friday morning. Sean came. He sat in the back row with me. Liam was a shepherd again — same role as last year, and he had been assigned the lead-shepherd part this year because he was the oldest shepherd, which he had accepted with gravity — and he sang every word of Away in a Manger at full volume. Sean filmed it on his phone. Sean had said he was going to come even if he could barely stand, and he had been right, and he was there for it. He stood up after the pageant to hug Liam. Liam said "Daddy you came." Sean said "I came." Liam said "I knew you would." Miss Alicia saw this and turned her face away for a moment. She is a good teacher.

Linda has been baking. She brought us a plate of Christmas cookies Tuesday — Russian tea cakes, spritz cookies, pfeffernüsse. She told me she baked every year for her husband and has continued even though her husband died eleven years ago because baking is a thing you do for yourself if it was a thing you did for someone else. She said this casually. She did not know she was handing me something. She handed it to me. I received it. I wrote it down that night.

Nora said her first three-word sentence Wednesday that was not a demand. Demands have been three-word since November. This was observation. She said "Mommy is cooking." She said it to Liam. She said it accurately. I was cooking. I was at the stove. She was explaining me to her brother. I almost dropped the pot.

Sean's mother is coming Christmas Eve and staying through the 27th. Sean's sister is coming December 23 and staying with Sean's mother. My mother and father are coming Christmas morning for pancakes and presents and will stay for dinner. Patrick, Colleen, Sean III, Meghan, Brian, Aidan, and Danny are coming to the three-decker for the main Christmas Day dinner at 2 PM — we'll be going to them, not hosting. We will try. Sean will go if he can. He may not be able to. We will see Tuesday.

I am doing advent cookies each weekend — a batch on Sunday to get us through the week. Spritz this Sunday. Chocolate crinkles next Sunday. Thumbprints the Sunday after. A plate of cookies on the counter. Small, gentle, repetitive. The rhythm of Christmas at our house this year.

Linda’s words about baking — that it becomes something you do for yourself if it was once something you did for someone else — have stayed with me all week. I’ve been doing advent cookies each Sunday to keep a gentle rhythm in the house, and this week it was spritz: the same kind Linda brought us on that plate Tuesday, pressing out little star shapes while Nora sat on the kitchen floor and Liam told me about being the lead shepherd. The recipe below is the one I’ve come back to — straightforward, forgiving, and exactly right for a plate on the counter that just needs to be there.

Spritz

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 48 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Colored sugar or sprinkles, for decorating (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Do not grease the baking sheets — ungreased pans help the dough grip and release cleanly from the press.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Beat softened butter and granulated sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed.
3. Add egg and extracts. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until fully combined and smooth.
4. Mix in flour and salt. Add flour and salt gradually, mixing on low until a soft, cohesive dough forms. Do not overmix. The dough should be smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky.
5. Load the cookie press. Fill a cookie press with the dough and fit with your desired disk — stars, trees, and wreaths all work beautifully. Press cookies directly onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
6. Decorate. Add colored sugar or sprinkles to the tops of the cookies before baking, if desired.
7. Bake. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden. The tops will remain pale — that is correct. Do not overbake.
8. Cool. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 75 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Carbs: 9g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 15mg