My new favorite spritz cookies because they are easy enough to press out the cookie press, bakes for 6-8 minutes only, tender enough for me, great-tasting, and easily slides off the traditional aluminum (non-insulated pan using a little nudge by a brownie spatula. Most of all, hubby does not really notice the difference from the first two recipes (or so he says).
Instructions: Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Sift together the flour and salt; set aside. Cream together the softened butter and sugar. Mix in egg yolks, almond and vanilla extracts. Blend in dry ingredients. Fill cookie press and shoot cookies 1.5" apart on ungreased aluminum non-insulated cookie sheet. You may decorate with sprinkles or sugar before baking. Bake 6-8 minutes until slightly golden brown at the edges.
This is the second recipe I tried for use with my new toy cookie press. I must say I and my kids prefer this recipe, as this is lighter than the Marcato biscuits. Plus, the dough itself was very easy to squeeze out, I did not have to use the force of my body. The downside only was that it was harder to remove from the baking pan than the Marcato biscuits once baked, even after cooling for some time. So maybe next time I can experiment by actually greasing the pan with butter before squeezing out the dough (with the possibility of the dough not sticking to the pan). Or I can just try using parchment paper and holding the paper before pulling the cookie press up after squeezing out the dough.
Hubby, as I said in my previous post, preferred the denser Marcato biscuits (although he found it hard to admit it to me).
Just a note on the cheaper Norpro brand (link shown here): I received it already. Made of aluminum, it is lighter and thinner than the Marcato I bought earlier (which, interestingly, also bears the Norpro mark on the box, but is made in Italy). I would think it will not be up to denser cookie dough like the Marcato biscuits. However, I think it is still a better option than plastic ones. I will also someday try its butter spritz cookie recipe included in the manual. The light dough below should not be a problem with this cheaper Norpro cookie press.
In bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, vanilla and almond extract; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat until combined. Do not chill. Fill cookie press with dough and with desired disks, press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet on cooling rack. Remove from sheet; cool completely.
I bought a cookie press sometime last year, foreseeing some cookie-making for cookie swap come Christmas...but in the busy-ness of the Holidays, I did not actually get to practice with my new gadget until after Christmas.
The motivation I had to get myself a cookie press was when hubby previously commented on lengua de gato that made me recall this neat gadget which my Nanay used to have (although I never actually saw her use it).
I got one that I realized now is too pricey, it seems, as I perused amazon.com for the same item. (Probably, amazon did not have the $14.99 at the time I purchased mine). But I guess, with this price and the good reviews as to how sturdy it is, I think I made a good choice nevertheless. Just out of curiosity, I got myself this $14.99 to see if it is the same sturdy construction. Then I will update you readers who might be interested to get it.
My first cookies were overbaked, tough, and brown. I let hubby try one and he suggested I bake them for a shorter time. He then liked the ones baked only up to the point that edges start to turn brown. I also had to get used to pumping out the dough, and to try not greasing the baking sheet. Probably oven temps and environmental conditions and baking pan differences accounted for my initial results despite following the recipe in the manual. After I adjusted the baking time and omitted greasing the baking sheets (I used insulated nonstick aluminum), my hubby now has a new favorite homemade cookie. He can finish a whole batch in two days. (Sadly, my kids and I are not that crazy over this; we like the lengua de gato better.)
This is the first recipe I will post for cookie press.
Basic dough recipe:
500 g (~ 1 lb) flour 250 g (~1/2 lb) sugar 250 g (~ 1/2 lb or 2 sticks) butter pinch of salt 2-3 oz milk 3 egg yolks
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F and place the rack at the middle.
Melt the butter in the microwave for about a minute and stir; set aside in room temp. Place the flour into a bowl mixing it with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Pour the egg yolks in the center and mix the dough with a fork. Add the butter previously melted, then the milk, and knead with your hands until completely uniform and soft.
Coming up is another recipe that I and the kids preferred, but my husband likes ok (he still prefers the more dense recipe above).
I bought a cookie press last December, triggered by a my husband's comment in relation to lengua de gato. Somehow, the image of my Nanay's plastic cookie press flashed in my mind, and I knew I had to get myself this toy.
At the time I got mine, it was the $41, chosen because of some good reviews on amazon. Then as of typing this, I saw the $14.39. I was intrigued by the cheap price. The gadget itself seemed the same. So I decided to order this just to see if it was made of the same material, and if constructed the same. Will update this post once I got a hold of the cheaper one.
I never saw my mother use hers. So I looked at some videos on how to use the cookie press. Got some ideas from Wilton's.
I used the ONLY recipe (coming up next) that came with the gadget, and while it said to grease the baking sheet, I found out that if I don't, the dough stays on the sheet after coming out of the press. If I did grease the baking sheet, the dough just would not stay on it. The Wilton video I saw suggested ungreased sheet anyway. I also had to shorten the baking time, and I placed the rack at the middle of the oven to not burn the cookies. After I developed the rhythm of pressing and baking, my husband is now a happy cookie muncher.
The baking pan I used is a nonstick insulated aluminum pan as pictured below in the link from amazon.
How to use the cookie press:
Unscrew the closing ring and raise the piston. Fill the entire cylinder with part of the dough prepared. Insert the desired die-plate into the closing ring. The raised part of the die-plate must be facing downwards. Screw the closing ring onto the cylinder. Grrease a cookie sheet evenly. Choose the size of the biscuits you wish to obtain by rotating the regulator (1=small biscuits; 2=large biscuits). Turn the knob so that the jack on the lever meets the notches on the rod. Pump the lever a few times until the dough comes out of the holes of the die-plate evenly. Remove this first dough so that the die-plate stays clean.Place the machine on the cold cookie sheet and push the lever downwards. Raise the lever and move the machine to make another biscuit. Bake the oven for approximately 12-15 minutes (or until the edges start to brown). You might have to rotate the pan to brown the cookies evenly. Take the sheet out of the oven and let cool for about a minute before transferring the cookies onto the cooling rack.
Here's a video of me pressing the cookie out onto sheets. Sorry I am not a good video editor. No words here. But you will get the gist anyway...Pardon the mess, please. I was also making empanada at the time; hence, I had flour and bowls around.
