Due to an unfortunate illness, Paul’s parents were stuck in Nevada for Christmas. Stuck with them were Paul’s favorite cookies: butter spritz. So being the kind and thoughtful person I am, I decided to bake a batch of those cookies especially for him and count them as his Christmas gift.
If you know anything about me, you will know that I don’t enjoy baking cookies. It lies somewhere in the fact that aside from the mixing, shaping and occasional decorating, there’s just too much work involved. In comparision, cakes, brownies and cupcakes are something I love to make. There are usually one or two bowls involved, batter poured into a pan and then bake. So making these cookies were a real work of love especially since I had to use a cookie press to make form the cookies.
The cookie press is a cylindrical device with a plunger on one end that pushes dough through a small hole at the other end. It has interchangeable stencils in shapes such as a tree or flower. For me, the device is pure hell, from rolling the dough to fit into the cylinder to forming the cookies on the cookie sheet. I don’t know if a battery-operated cookie press is any easier than the manual one I used.
The box description flat-out lied; the press does not make perfect cookies with every click. The cookie blobs were often deformed and did not resemble any pine tree I’ve ever seen. Nonetheless, the batch of cookies only lasted three days. It wasn’t Santa who ate the cookies.
Classic Spritz Cookies
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat over to 375 degrees F. Thoroughly cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla and almond extract; mix well. Stir together flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing to make a smooth dough. Do not chill. Shape dough in small logs and make in cookie press. Press cookies onto cool ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Remove cookies from sheet. Cool on rack. Allegedly makes 7-8 dozen cookies.
My Burning Kitchen 
I enjoy making cookies – the ones that are in the refrigerated section that you pull apart and put on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 16 minutes… and voila~ — there's your cookies! i'm so with you about what a pain in the spritz it is to make the real things. Way too much work, true dat. You are truly a dream sigot for P. to make these. i got tired just reading about the cookie press and what it takes to get that done! And i hope his parents are feeling butter… i mean BETTER.D, do let me know if you got the mail i forwarded your way, if you would. Happy, healthy 2008 – and beyond – to you and P and your families!
I'm surprised he likes those. Then again, I am not a fan of butter cookies.
I love butter cookies, made ones with peppermint and vanilla for X'mas:) if not for all that fat, I'd be eating them more often:)Hope Paul's parents are better now..Wish you'll a Happy New year in advance.-Mansi
That was really nice of you to make those special cookies; but you are a very nice person! Don't give up on that cookie press…my mom always says the more time you make something, especially baked goods, the better (and easier) it gets.
OH D…. Look what I came across…We must experiment!http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2007/12/cake-in-a-jar-s.htmlHappy New Year!xo,me…