How to Use the Cookie Press

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.