Cookie Press Cookies (Spritz Cookies). Rich, buttery cookies made into all sorts of shapes with a cookie press!
Cleaning House
My parents have been in a state of cleaning out their house for the last seven years. Sometimes that results in them brining me boxes of papers I wrote in middle school. Sometimes it results in getting awesome kitchen stuff I don’t have, such as a cookie press. A recent trip resorted in the latter: my mom gave me a cookie press.
Historical Kitchen Equipment
From the moment I saw the cookie press, I wanted to use it immediately. I couldn’t have been any more excited about a kitchen item. It looks like it was probably made in the 50s or 60s, but is in pristine condition. Like a cookie press straight out of a museum. There is something about it that makes me feel like I’ve gone back in time to make cookies on Bewitched, and that just makes me happy.
Cookie Press Cookies
Despite having apparently grown up with a cookie press in my house, I had not used one until I received the one from my mom. So, I had to do some investigating. I read and experimented with a good number of cookie press recipes. The one I used for these cookies is made with powdered sugar and just a bit of almond and vanilla extracts.
Since I wanted to use sprinkles on the cookies, I didn’t want to color the dough – but you could easily color it with a few drops of food coloring. And, if you want different flavors, you could use different extracts such as peppermint or orange. I feel certain I will be experimenting with those soon.
Dough Notes
When I made these the first time, my kids had some sort of toy drama, and I left the dough sitting out for quite a while. It got too soft, and wouldn’t stick to the baking mat when I pressed them. So, I put the dough into the fridge. There was again another drama, and it sat for too long, (again). By the time i got back to it, again, it was too cold and wouldn’t press. I then let it sit out for a bit, and finally, it reached the correct temperature and worked well.
Bottom line: if you have trouble getting the dough to press and stick, try putting it in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up. It’s easy to manipulate the dough’s temperature to get it to the correct consistency. And although my cookie press experience is limited to my amazing retro press, I hear that different presses do better with different dough consistencies, so certainly experiment with it!
Cookie Press Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- colored sugar or sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Use mixer to beat butter until lightened, about 2 minutes.
- Add in powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and almond extracts. Beat until smooth, scraping down sides as needed.
- Add egg yolks and beat until combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together flour and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture, about a 1/2 cup at a time, until well incorporated. Scrape down sides as needed.
- Place dough into cookie press and squeeze onto cookie sheet. These cookies can be about an inch apart as they do not spread much. If you have trouble getting the dough to stick, you can place it in the refrigerator for a 5-10 minutes if it’s too soft.
- Bake until just golden, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cookies cool completely before decorating.
- To decorate: In a small bowl, mix together water, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Work in groups of about 4-6 cookies. Brush a small amount over top of cookies and then immediately sprinkle with colored sugar or other sprinkles of your choice.
If you enjoyed these Cookie Press Cookies, you’ll probably enjoy these other SugarSpicesLife recipes:
Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
Gingerbread Men Cookies
Oreo Peppermint Bark
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
