One of the cookies I make every holiday season is called a Cookie Press cookie. Rich, buttery, and made with lots of vanilla, these cookies are simple to make. Use a cookie press - a hollow tube fitted with a decorative nozzle at one end and a plunger at the other (more commonly called a cookie gun today) - to press the cookies directly onto the baking sheet, and decorate them any way you like. This is a recipe that lets you be as creative as you would like to be.
When I was younger, and before I got married, this was the first cookie I made when I started to bake for the holidays. It was actually the first cookie I baked. I loved to make this cookie because I could decorate it in so many different ways. If you add a few drops of green food coloring and a Christmas tree disc, you could press out green Christmas trees. Add some different color sprinkles, and you have a cookie that actually looks like a Christmas tree. You have endless choices in what kind of cookies you can make; put the round wreath disc into the press and add a half of maraschino cherry and you have Christmas wreaths. Keep the same disc in the press, add a chocolate chip to the center, and you have a totally different cookie.
Make a simple drizzle of icing after the cookies are baked and drizzle them across the cooled cookies with a fork for a little added flair and color. This is a basic spritz cookie; you can add just about anything you like to the batter and decorate it any way you choose to.
For those of you who are diabetic, try replacing the sugar with ½ a cup of Stevia. Stevia is a natural sugar substitute which works well in baking and allows a diabetic to indulge in their sweets without raising their blood sugars. If you need more information on Stevia you can go to Stevia.com. This is a cookie everyone in my family makes every year and obviously no two cookies are ever the same. This cookie stores well for a couple of weeks, just make sure it is in an airtight container.
Cookie Press Cookies
Ingredients
o 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
o 1 cup sugar
o 2 large egg yolks
o 3 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
o 1/4 teaspoon salt
o 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
o Colored sanding sugar
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, flour, salt, and vanilla. If you are adding food coloring now is the time to do it. Start off with just a few drops, and see what your color looks like. Mix thoroughly.
2. Fill a cookie press with the dough, and turn out cookies 1 to 2 inches apart onto an unbuttered baking sheet. You may line the baking sheet with parchment paper, but do not grease the cookie sheet, because these cookies have enough butter in them. Sprinkle cookies with colored sanding sugars (if a diabetic is going to eat these cookies do not sprinkle them with colored sugars), or decorate with anything else you like.
3. Bake until the cookies are lightly browned, 7 to 10 minutes. To ensure even baking, rotate sheet halfway through the baking process. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool.
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