cookie press cookies

1) Kuhn Rikon brand cookie press. 2) Start off by creaming the softened butter. 3) Add the sugar and mix until fluffy then add the egg, vanilla, salt and cinnamon powder. Stir in the all purpose flour. 4) The dough all mixed up and ready for the cookie press. 5) The cookie press filled with the dough. 6) The cookie press was easy to use and it worked great.

flower-shaped pressed dough ready for baking

New kitchen gadgets always make cooking and baking more interesting. With new things come more learning and challenges. I recently tried out this cookie press that my husband ordered online. Basic butter cookies were the first ones I tried to make using the recipe which came with the cookie press. However, before I started, I read a few reviews about using the gadget. Some are not too promising with problems such as the pressed dough wouldn't stick to the cookie sheets and the dough was too difficult to handle. With this recipe, I had no problems with both the dough and using the cookie press. Everything went well and I actually had fun making the cookies. I learned a few things though. I think that it will be easier to get everything together and to press all the cookie dough on the baking sheets before baking. It may also help if the piped dough can be refrigerated prior to baking so that the shapes will not spread out too much during the baking so the cookies will retain their shapes and impressions better. I've forgotten how good homemade butter cookies are but I have more flavors to try next time. In the meantime, I enjoyed my relaxing afternoon with some tea and a few of these warm crisp cookies just out of the oven.

crispy butter cookies just out of the oven (above)

tea and cookies on a lazy weekend afternoon

COOKIE PRESS BUTTER COOKIES (SPRITZ COOKIES)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (cardamom may be substituted)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 375 F. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter then add the sugar. Continue to beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the flour until well mixed. Pack the dough into the cookie press. Fit with the desired disk design. Press the dough out onto ungreased baking sheet spacing the cookies 1" apart. Bake until lightly golden, about 10-12 minutes. Gently transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.