Almond Spritz Cookies

 

I have to start off by saying THANK YOU to my mom for the spritz press she sent me. It's a Kuhn Rikon brand, and it works wonderfully. It's so easy to use. I think she found it at HomeGoods, and soon afterwards, I found it in the mail, to my surprise and delight. It actually has a few features that are nicer than my great-grandmother's cookie press (which we have at home, and which I've used for many years). I almost feel like a traitor saying that, but maybe one day my great-grandchildren will like this one the way I've enjoyed my great-grandmother's, and so it'll be all right.

Spritz cookies are fun because you put them through the press and they come out in wonderful shapes. They look so fancy! The directions say that they should be delicately browned, but if you burn them a little, don't worry, because the slightly burnt ones are the best. And, of course, the burnt ones don't look nice enough to give away, so you have to keep those...

If you haven't used a spritz press before, be patient with it. You raise the presser-thing up as high as it will go, insert dough in the tube (fill it as full as you can), put a disk with holes in it on the end, and screw the thing that keeps the disk in place over the disk. The cookie sheet must be cold and ungreased (it can't have a nonstick coating, and you can't use parchment paper or aluminum foil, because the dough has to stick to the cookie sheet). Put the cookie press on the sheet, click the handle, and raise the press just after you click. Every time you click the handle, enough dough for one cookie will come out. But the first four or five will never come out properly. For those, scrape the dough off the press and throw it back into the bowl. After that, you should start getting good cookies. The shape will change a little as they bake, since they spread out somewhat. Remove them from the cookie sheet with a very thin spatula as soon as they come out of the oven. Note that some shapes will cook faster than others, so expect variations in cooking time.

If, as you click the press, the dough starts coming out of places other than the holes in the disk, you haven't assembled it properly. Try to find out where it's undone, so you don't lose any more dough. You may have to throw some dough away if it's stained with metal ickiness (especially if your press is old). I've also heard the cookies will come out better if you don't use food coloring and if you don't refrigerate the dough.

I made a double batch of these cookies with my landlady a couple of days ago, and we had so much fun. We used every cookie sheet in the house (hers and mine combined), and we made lots and lots of cookies. We burnt some, and we broke some, and we ate some, but we still ended up with plenty of good ones. She's making plans to borrow my cookie press after I leave to go home for Christmas.


Almond Spritz Cookies

1 c. butter (must be butter)
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg or 3 yolks, beaten (note: if you make a meringue something, save the yolks for this)
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. almond extract

Work butter until soft and cream with sugar until light. Add beaten egg and almond flavoring and beat smooth. Add the flour sifted with salt and baking powder. The dough may be rolled and cut with fancy cutters or molded in a cookie press. Fill the press and force onto ungreased cold cookie sheet. Bake in a hot oven at 400° until delicately browned.