The first time I used a pastry bag was when making cream cheese spritzes with my dad when I was little.  He always makes them at Christmas.  I started making them in recent years too, out of necessity (I live too far away from my dad now to continuously eat the spritzes he makes all through December).  These spritzes are light in texture, fun and festive!  You can decorate them with any sprinkles of your choosing or no sprinkles at all (but who doesn’t like sprinkles?!)

Cream cheese spritzes are easy to make, once you get the hang of the pastry bag.  If you already use pastry bags on a regular basis, you’ll have no problem.  But even if you don’t, this is a great recipe for pastry bag beginners.  I used the Wilton 1M decorating tip (I didn’t use a coupler because I didn’t have one that fit the tip) with a 12” Wilton disposable pastry bag (although if I had a larger disposable pastry bag it would have been easier).  I had to refill my pastry bag three times, and refilling pastry bags is never fun.  At least the pastry bag didn’t split apart in my hands this time!  I’ve had that happen before.  What a mess!  Suffice it to say, if you are using disposable pastry bags, be gentle!

Cream Cheese Spritzes

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Yield: Around 36 cookies

Serving Size: 1 cookie

Ingredients

• 1 (8oz.) package Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature (I always use “original”. I am not sure if this recipe would work with a reduced-fat variety.)
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 18-20 maraschino cherries, drained and sliced in half
• Assorted sprinkles
Special Equipment Needed:
• Large pastry bag
• Wilton 1M open star decorating tip

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Slice cherries in half and place them in a strainer placed over a bowl, so the juice strains while you make your dough.
3. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until fluffy.
4. Gradually mix in flour until well blended.
5. Scoop dough into the pastry bag fitted with the decorating tip.
6. Gently press dough in 2” swirl shapes, 2” apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Sprinkle each cookie generously with desired sprinkles.
8. Press half of a cherry into the center of each cookie.
9. Bake 12-15 minutes until edges and bottoms are light brown.
10. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

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http://www.sweetsbeforeeats.com/cream-cheese-spritzes/