Cookie Press

Christmas has always meant homemade cookies and candy to me. My mother started baking cookies and making candy the day after Thanksgiving and never stopped until the day before Christmas.  No matter how cold it was outside the kitchen was always warm and smelled of fresh-baked goodies.  My father would take little boxes of candy and medium boxes of cookies to work and sell them to his co workers so they would have extra money for Christmas. The rest of the cookies/candy were divided among us and family as gifts.

I never realized how much work was involved in making cookies until after she died and I had to bake them myself.  She would have most of the work finished by the time I got home to help and all I had to do was decorate them – that was the fun part! Even as I got older  making the cookies was fun because it was something we did together and we no longer baked as many since dad had passed.

I have to admit the first few years after her death were very hard and the Santa face cookies were made with tears in my eyes. I especially cried the day I broke the Santa cookie cutter!  Luckily I found the exact cookie cutter at Wayfair. I have all her recipes that she baked every  year in a book called Christmas Recipes from Grandma up the Road , however I do not bake all of them every year.  I still don’t know how my mother managed to bake them all!

There was one cookie that I remember her making but I could never make it since I did not have a cookie press. I really wanted to make those cookies so last year Bill brought me a cookie press. (The cute thing was that we found my mother’s original press while cleaning out her house this summer!)

I had never used a cookie press before so this was a first. I also used the recipe that came with my press which is a little different. Mon’s recipe had to be chilled whereas the new recipe is use as is.

Not having to chill the dough made this go so much faster. I just filled the barrel with the cookie dough and screw on a cookie disc  and pull the trigger – instant cookie!  Of course I had to try all 12 cookie disc before I finished.  Afterwards I checked  mom’s press and it has six more disc that are different so next time I will try them to see what they look like in cookie form.  I like this little cookie press so well that I ordered an addition Holiday disc  set as soon as I got back on the computer that evening. I just hope it gets here before Christmas so I can try these out! We may be eating Christmas cookies for a long time.

I had 14 dozen shaped cookies  made and in the freezer in one afternoon!  It takes  me days to make this many rolled out shaped cookies. You can even add color to the dough for more interest!

The recipe that came on the box:

1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract ( I used regular vanilla extract)

1/2 teaspoon no color almond extract

3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder’

1 1/2 cups butter (softened)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Step 2

In bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. (This takes a little time but wait for it!)  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.

Step 3

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