Classic spritz cookies were the inspiration for the new beverage on the Starbucks menu, the Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte. Spritz is a German Christmas cookie made with butter, sugar, flour and egg, that tastes soft, buttery and slightly sweet. The drink it’s based on debuted in the US in early November and quickly became one of the chain’s most popular items.
The non-dairy iced beverage is made with sugar cookie flavored syrup, combined with Starbucks Blonde Espresso, almondmilk, and topped with red and green cookie sprinkles. It is just as delicious hot, with steamed almondmilk and a cap of foam with sprinkles.
“Almond is used quite a bit in baking,” says Erin Marinan, product development manager for Starbucks R&D. “The almond flavor from the almondmilk makes for a natural pairing with the nutty notes in Starbucks Blonde Espresso. We also wanted to harness the buttery and vanilla notes of the cookie, which you can pick up in the aroma from that first sip from the sugar cookie flavored syrup and sprinkles. It reminds me of making cookies with my mom and sisters growing up. It gives me all the nostalgic feels of the holiday.”
Rosalyn Batingan of the Starbucks beverage development team baked up her first batch of spritz cookies in her home kitchen. She tinkered with her cookie recipe as the team perfected their beverage, creating an airy cookie with a light, buttery texture and subtle almond flavor that would help to craft the signature flavors of the almondmilk latte.
“I’ve always had this passion for baking,” Batingan says. “My mom is Filipino, and we cooked all the time. She threw parties so I was able to be in the kitchen with her since I was really small and I would like to help her prepare things. I’ve been blessed to be in a position where I can use my love of baking and concepting to help create something others can enjoy.”
Batigan’s recipe for spritz cookies can be found below.
Yields 4-5 dozen cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp small batch pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pure almond extract
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 2 ¼ cups flour, unbleached white
- Red and green sprinkles
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Cream together butter and sugar until pale yellow – about 3 minutes; scrape down sides of bowl as needed
- Add egg, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt until creamy
- Slowly add flour to cream mixture until dough comes together
- Place dough into cookie press and pipe onto ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
- Decorate with sprinkles
- Bake 6-8 minutes until slightly brown and let cookies cool on a wire rack
