#cookie press

Hello, every birdie. Today I am so excited about both the character and the cookies that I made. First, let's talk about the character. 

Meet Yoimiya (YoY-Mee-Ahh) she is a pyro Character from Inazuma. She and her dad run a fireworks shop downtown. She is a happy-go-lucky character. It is hard to  All of the other Inazuman characters have talked about her, and there is not one person who doesn’t like her spunky personality. 

Her favorite food is snack foods. She says that she likes any type of snack food over entrees. When I saw this, I knew what recipe I would use. I had researched this particular recipe SOOO many times. Because the first time I attempted it, it was a bust. I cried and thought I had wasted $20 when I bought my Wilton Cookie Press. However, I am happy to tell you that I did not waste my money. I successfully made Spritz Cookies for the first time. 

If you don’t have a cookie press at home, you can also grab a pipping bag and a pipping tip. And pipe them like you would buttercream. 

Because I have a Wilton Cookie Press, I went to Wilton’s “Classic Buttery Spritz Cookies.” The recipe and measurements will be in the description down below. 

What you will need is:

Flour

Baking powder

Unsalted butter (I used margarine + shortening)

Sugar

Egg

Milk

Almond extract (if you have it)

Vanilla extract

This recipe is easiest in a stand mixer or with an electric mixer. It can be done by hand, but it will take a lot longer. I personally used my Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer. 

You want to combine your flour and baking powder together.

In the bowl attached to your mixer, you want to add your butter and sugar. And mix until light and fluffy. This takes about 3-5 minutes. 

Add in the egg, milk, vanilla extract, and the almond extract. 

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, while your mixer is on low. 

DO NOT CHILL. 

Fill your cookie press or your pipping bag with your cookie dough. You will know if you have done it right if it is not very sticky and not wet. The first time that I did this I know that I didn’t make sure that the butter and sugar were light and fluffy. 

Place in your desired disks. Press the cookies onto an UNGREASED cookie sheet. Also, it helps if the cookies are slightly cold. So place them in the freezer for a little bit. 

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. I know, 10 minutes seems like a long time, but trust me these cookies would not have been done in the normal 8 minutes. 

Cool them on the cookie sheet for at least 2 minutes, before placing them on the cooling rack. 

I am so proud of these cookies. I knew that I needed time away from the cookie press before trying it again. And I am so happy that I did. I just felt deflated when I tried it the first time. Because I spent some of my birthday money on it, and it didn’t work. But I gave it another shot, and it worked. 

I hope that you liked this recipe. Feel free to check it out for yourselves. See you in the next recipe. Thank you.  

@dduane​ has been making Parmesan biscuits with her new toy, the Cookie Press (full Twitter story here) and laughed out loud at the unconscious way I was holding it.

This is posed, but it’s exactly what she saw over by the other counter...

:-D

Spritz Cookies

Makes about 60 cookies

These are classic cookies that come to us by way of Germany.  “Spritzen” is German for “squirt” which describes how the dough comes out of the cookie press.  The cookie press can create cookies in different shapes by changing the disks in the press.  These are favorites at Christmas time and you can make a variety of fun shapes like trees, wreaths and stars.  You can also add a few drops of food coloring to the dough and decorate the cookies before you bake them with sprinkles, decorating sugar etc.

Ingredients

1 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Cream together the butter and the sugar.  Add the 3 beaten egg yolks and one teaspoon of almond extract.  Mix until well blended.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually sift into the butter mixture and stir well.  Combine to a smooth dough.

Chill until firm (2 - 3 hours) to make it easier for the cookies to come out of the cookie press.

Preheat oven to 350°. Using a cookie press, press out the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet (no parchment paper is needed or greasing the cookie sheet).

(If they don’t come out right the first few times that is okay. Just put the dough back in the cookie press and try again.)  Before placing the cookies in the oven you can decorate them with colored sugar, sprinkles or cherries.

Another one of the cookies we make every Christmas is spritz.  These light, buttery cookies are really tasty.  You need a cookie press to make these - Wilton makes a pretty good one and so do some other brands.

Ingredients:

1 pound butter

1 cup sugar

4 1/2 cups flour

2 eggs

2 extra egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

optional: food coloring (if you use food coloring, be sure to use the paste (or gel) kind - the liquid can mess up the recipe.  We use Wilton's, and it works well.)

Cream the butter in a mixer. Add the sugar and blend. Add the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and salt and mix. Gradually add the flour while mixing. You can add some food coloring if you want to - we used red and green!

Use the cookie press to form your designs.  Press the cookies onto an unlined cookie sheet. Bake at 350ºF for 13 minutes.Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and place on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!