I have been making spritz cookies since I was a small child. They are a classic butter cookie and the holidays don't seem complete without them.
1 C butter
2/3 C white sugar
1 t almond extract
1 egg
1 T salt
2 ¼ C Goldcoin or Wisconsin No 2 flour
Mix the butter, sugar, almond, and salt together first, then beat in the egg. Most people beat the stuffing out of it with a mixer, to create lightness. I have always just used a wooden spoon and never experienced someone turning down a cookie for lack of entrained air. Add the flour last and watch the consistency closely. Stiffen it up just enough so that the dough loses some of it's stickiness. Usually when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms an independent blob is the time to stop adding flour. Depending on how big your egg is, you may end up closer to 2 ½ C or more of flour.
Use a cookie press onto a cold clean cookie sheet, sprinkle on some colored sugars, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 6-8 minutes. You want to see basically one edge, of one cookie, on the sheet start to turn brown, then pull them out. The underside of the cookies should be just barely light brown. If the cookies stick to the sheet they are slightly undercooked, but probably OK. Overcooking is the greater evil.