Last weekend my husband handed me a partially used Macy’s gift card and said “go buy yourself something”… so I did. I browsed all of the Martha Stewart collection made a list in my head for some other things to put on my wishlist and came home with a cookie press. Usually I’m not one for gadgets because my parents were totally into gadgets and it really cluttered up our kitchen when I was a kid. As a result I avoid gadgets whenever possible. I don’t know what came over me in Macy’s but this cookie “gun” called to me. The kids were even more excited because it looks like a fabulously fun play-dough toy. I did feel like I was playing when I made these cookies and that’s not a bad thing. Who says kids get to have all the fun?

I’ve only used the cookie press once so I won’t pass judgement over the long lasting quality of this gadget and I definitely need some additional practice to get the hang of it. I will give you some tips on using it in case you feel like you might need one too. First you need to make sure that your cookie sheet is ungreased, at room temperature, and you can’t use parchment paper. The dough needs to stick to the pan to separate itself from the cookie press. I tried to press out my second batch of cookies on a warm baking sheet and that just doesn’t work. The butter in the dough immediately melts and you end up pulling the cookie off the press with your fingers. Not pretty. After I got out a second baking sheet it went much smoother and I figured out that if I balanced the warm pan over my kitchen sink that it cooled off much quicker. Also I found that the cookies tasted much better after 2 days even though the kids liked them right away.

The recipe on the back of the box used 2 large eggs yolks and I didn’t want to waste any egg whites so I looked up a Spritz cookie recipe in my Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book. Next time I make spritz cookies I am going to try out a chocolate version.

Spritz Cookies

(from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book)

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix butter, sugar, egg, salt, and vanilla thoroughly. Add flour and combine. Using 1/4 of the dough at a time, force dough through cookie press on ungreased baking sheet in desired shapes. Bake 6 to 9 minutes, or until set but not brown. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

I glazed these and the kids added sprinkles. They were thrilled because some of the cookies ended up looking like tiny volcanoes. My only complaint about the Martha Stewart cookie press was that the instructions said to pull the trigger once for each cookie and I found that I needed to do it twice. Otherwise I think this would be a fun holiday gift.

Need some more ideas for your wishlist or for gift giving? How about some M-Cups?

I ordered these cuties online as a gift for myself and they are just too awesome. They are measuring cups that nest together and are pretty enough to put out on display. I was pleased that one of the cups was a 3/4 cup because I only have one of those and it seems I always need it when it’s in the dishwasher.

My other splurge was these Babushkups glasses. Are you seeing a theme here? My kids love these as do I. My son has claimed the “smalliest” (his word) one for himself and it’s the perfect size for a kid drink. I don’t shy away from giving my kids glass or ceramic dishes but if you do these might not be for you. My favorite thing about the Babushkups is that they take up less space in my cabinet than 3 individual glass would. Both these items come from Fred & Friends and there are so many other really neat things that they design. Go check them out and maybe you’ll get some of your holiday shopping done. I love that everything they design is fun and functional.

Disclosure: I was not compensated or asked to recommend any of these products. My product reviews are for things I chose and bought for myself.

cookies, dessert, Martha Stewart, product review, recipe, Recipes

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November 18, 2010

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