We have a wonderful recipe for butter cookies; it's the only cookie
recipe we make that calls for a cookie press, and we make them every
year at Christmas.

We have a very old "Mirro" (I think) cookie press that's a big aluminum
tube with a screw knob on the back -- you twist the knob to get the
dough out. We also have a newer press that looks like a small-scale
caulking gun -- it has a sort of "squeeze trigger" thing.

In order to get the cookies to extrude properly and form the proper
shapes, the dough needs to be "refrigerator cold", which makes it
incredibly stiff. The kids twisted the original knob off the old one,
and I replaced it with a larger one, but it's still nearly too difficult
for anybody to turn for very long -- people take "shifts" at cranking
out cookies.

The new "gun" one (from Williams Sonoma; not cheap) broke apart last
night, from too much pressure; it takes two hands to squeeze the thing.

So the question is, is this the way the dough should be? As I said, we
have no other recipes for press cookies, so we really don't know what's
right, except that this doesn't seem to be, but if the dough is softer,
it doesn't separate from the extrusion die and stick to the cookie sheet
properly.

Isaac

isw wrote:
> So the question is, is this the way the dough should be? As I said, we
> have no other recipes for press cookies, so we really don't know what's
> right, except that this doesn't seem to be, but if the dough is softer,
> it doesn't separate from the extrusion die and stick to the cookie sheet
> properly.
>
> Isaac
>

The temperature of the dough has to be just right, not too cold and not
too warm. If the dough is cold and stiff, wait a few minutes for the
dough to warm up. Sometimes the dough will not stick to slick baking
sheets, but parchment paper should work. Good luck, I hope this helps.


Becca

On Dec 23, 9:07*pm, isw > wrote:
> We have a wonderful recipe for butter cookies; it's the only cookie
> recipe we make that calls for a cookie press, and we make them every
> year at Christmas.
>
> We have a very old "Mirro" (I think) cookie press that's a big aluminum
> tube with a screw knob on the back -- you twist the knob to get the
> dough out. We also have a newer press that looks like a small-scale
> caulking gun -- it has a sort of "squeeze trigger" thing.
>
> In order to get the cookies to extrude properly and form the proper
> shapes, the dough needs to be "refrigerator cold", which makes it
> incredibly stiff. The kids twisted the original knob off the old one,
> and I replaced it with a larger one, but it's still nearly too difficult
> for anybody to turn for very long -- people take "shifts" at cranking
> out cookies.
>
> The new "gun" one (from Williams Sonoma; not cheap) broke apart last
> night, from too much pressure; it takes two hands to squeeze the thing.
>
> So the question is, is this the way the dough should be? As I said, we
> have no other recipes for press cookies, so we really don't know what's
> right, except that this doesn't seem to be, but if the dough is softer,
> it doesn't separate from the extrusion die and stick to the cookie sheet
> properly.
>
> Isaac

G*d damn! It must be cookiepressaccident day! My w-s cookie press
broke last night on the cream cheese spritz dough that we've been
maiking ever since my childhood. Went to Michael's today and got a new
Wilton press. I miss the old hand-screw Mirro one we had when I was a
kid. Don't like the trigger deal, but hey, it makes cookies. Tomorrow
I try again, and hope by dough somehow seems the right consistency.
Good luck to you too!

"isw" > wrote in message
]...
> We have a wonderful recipe for butter cookies; it's the only cookie
> recipe we make that calls for a cookie press, and we make them every
> year at Christmas.
>
> We have a very old "Mirro" (I think) cookie press that's a big aluminum
> tube with a screw knob on the back -- you twist the knob to get the
> dough out. We also have a newer press that looks like a small-scale
> caulking gun -- it has a sort of "squeeze trigger" thing.
>
> In order to get the cookies to extrude properly and form the proper
> shapes, the dough needs to be "refrigerator cold", which makes it
> incredibly stiff. The kids twisted the original knob off the old one,
> and I replaced it with a larger one, but it's still nearly too difficult
> for anybody to turn for very long -- people take "shifts" at cranking
> out cookies.
>
> The new "gun" one (from Williams Sonoma; not cheap) broke apart last
> night, from too much pressure; it takes two hands to squeeze the thing.
>
> So the question is, is this the way the dough should be? As I said, we
> have no other recipes for press cookies, so we really don't know what's
> right, except that this doesn't seem to be, but if the dough is softer,
> it doesn't separate from the extrusion die and stick to the cookie sheet
> properly.
>
> Isaac

I'm no expert, but I have had good luck giving the old Mirro a smidge of a
backward twist to cut the cookie off from the tube.
Janet

Becca wrote:
> isw wrote:
>> So the question is, is this the way the dough should be? As I said, we
>> have no other recipes for press cookies, so we really don't know
>> what's right, except that this doesn't seem to be, but if the dough is
>> softer, it doesn't separate from the extrusion die and stick to the
>> cookie sheet properly.
>>
>> Isaac
>>
>
> The temperature of the dough has to be just right, not too cold and not
> too warm. If the dough is cold and stiff, wait a few minutes for the
> dough to warm up. Sometimes the dough will not stick to slick baking
> sheets, but parchment paper should work. Good luck, I hope this helps.

It takes practice. The dough shouldn't be too cold or too warm, and as
Becca advised keep it well chilled but let it warm a bit if it's too
much for the press.

In my experience, spritz dough will stick to a bare cookie sheet but not
to parchment paper.

My mother and grandmothers had those metal Mirro presses (my
sister-in-law still uses hers), and I hated them. I have a hand-operated
trigger press from Wilton and a battery operated press from ?? some
other company. I like both of them but the automatic one takes quite a
bit of getting used to.

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:07:31 -0800 in rec.food.cooking, isw
> wrote,
>In order to get the cookies to extrude properly and form the proper
>shapes, the dough needs to be "refrigerator cold", which makes it
>incredibly stiff. The kids twisted the original knob off the old one,

What does the recipe call for, for shortening? Perhaps substitute a
tablespoon or two of vegetable oil for butter to give a softer dough
when cold?

In article ]>,
isw > wrote:

> We have a wonderful recipe for butter cookies; it's the only cookie
> recipe we make that calls for a cookie press, and we make them every
> year at Christmas.
>
> We have a very old "Mirro" (I think) cookie press that's a big aluminum
> tube with a screw knob on the back -- you twist the knob to get the
> dough out. We also have a newer press that looks like a small-scale
> caulking gun -- it has a sort of "squeeze trigger" thing.
>
> In order to get the cookies to extrude properly and form the proper
> shapes, the dough needs to be "refrigerator cold", which makes it
> incredibly stiff. The kids twisted the original knob off the old one,
> and I replaced it with a larger one, but it's still nearly too difficult
> for anybody to turn for very long -- people take "shifts" at cranking
> out cookies.
>
> The new "gun" one (from Williams Sonoma; not cheap) broke apart last
> night, from too much pressure; it takes two hands to squeeze the thing.
>
> So the question is, is this the way the dough should be? As I said, we
> have no other recipes for press cookies, so we really don't know what's
> right, except that this doesn't seem to be, but if the dough is softer,
> it doesn't separate from the extrusion die and stick to the cookie sheet
> properly.
>
> Isaac

AFAIC, Isaac, cookie press dough should not be refrigerated ‹ it
stiffens the dough, as you've learned. Why have you been refrigerating
it?

I use a Bigass� plastic-coated-on-the-inside canvas pastry bag fitted
with a pastry tube for my spritz cookies. See my website and follow the
link to the spritz adventure. http://web.me.com/barbschaller


--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller 12/15/2009

On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:41:27 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>In article ]>,
> isw > wrote:
>
>> We have a wonderful recipe for butter cookies; it's the only cookie
>> recipe we make that calls for a cookie press, and we make them every
>> year at Christmas.
>>
>> We have a very old "Mirro" (I think) cookie press that's a big aluminum
>> tube with a screw knob on the back -- you twist the knob to get the
>> dough out. We also have a newer press that looks like a small-scale
>> caulking gun -- it has a sort of "squeeze trigger" thing.
>>
>> In order to get the cookies to extrude properly and form the proper
>> shapes, the dough needs to be "refrigerator cold", which makes it
>> incredibly stiff. The kids twisted the original knob off the old one,
>> and I replaced it with a larger one, but it's still nearly too difficult
>> for anybody to turn for very long -- people take "shifts" at cranking
>> out cookies.
>>
>> The new "gun" one (from Williams Sonoma; not cheap) broke apart last
>> night, from too much pressure; it takes two hands to squeeze the thing.
>>
>> So the question is, is this the way the dough should be? As I said, we
>> have no other recipes for press cookies, so we really don't know what's
>> right, except that this doesn't seem to be, but if the dough is softer,
>> it doesn't separate from the extrusion die and stick to the cookie sheet
>> properly.
>>
>> Isaac
>
>AFAIC, Isaac, cookie press dough should not be refrigerated ‹ it
>stiffens the dough, as you've learned. Why have you been refrigerating
>it?

I think it depends, if it can be rolled then it's too stiff for a
cookie press... some need chilling so they can be rolled, some need
chilling so they can be pressed... so it depends on how you get your
cookies.

I have one of those Mirro cookie presses somewhere, haven't used it in
many years... I remeber it was fun experimenting to discover what
configuration each die would extrude.

brooklyn1 wrote:

> I have one of those Mirro cookie presses somewhere, haven't used it in
> many years... I remeber it was fun experimenting to discover what
> configuration each die would extrude.

I gave my cookie press away. I don't have the knack and
every shape came out looking like a pile. (laugh)

nancy

In article >,
brooklyn1 > wrote:

> On Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:41:27 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> >AFAIC, Isaac, cookie press dough should not be refrigerated ‹ it
> >stiffens the dough, as you've learned. Why have you been refrigerating
> >it?
>
> I think it depends, if it can be rolled then it's too stiff for a
> cookie press... some need chilling so they can be rolled, some need
> chilling so they can be pressed... so it depends on how you get your
> cookies.
>
> I have one of those Mirro cookie presses somewhere, haven't used it in
> many years... I remeber it was fun experimenting to discover what
> configuration each die would extrude.

My Mirro press has a crank handle instead of a twist kind. My disks
have three or four die on each one; you can change the shape of the
cookie without dismantling the unit. I have a difficult time getting
the dough to release, though, so I use the pastry bag instead.

--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller 12/15/2009

In article >,
Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> In article ]>,
> isw > wrote:
>
> > We have a wonderful recipe for butter cookies; it's the only cookie
> > recipe we make that calls for a cookie press, and we make them every
> > year at Christmas.
> >
> > We have a very old "Mirro" (I think) cookie press that's a big aluminum
> > tube with a screw knob on the back -- you twist the knob to get the
> > dough out. We also have a newer press that looks like a small-scale
> > caulking gun -- it has a sort of "squeeze trigger" thing.
> >
> > In order to get the cookies to extrude properly and form the proper
> > shapes, the dough needs to be "refrigerator cold", which makes it
> > incredibly stiff. The kids twisted the original knob off the old one,
> > and I replaced it with a larger one, but it's still nearly too difficult
> > for anybody to turn for very long -- people take "shifts" at cranking
> > out cookies.
> >
> > The new "gun" one (from Williams Sonoma; not cheap) broke apart last
> > night, from too much pressure; it takes two hands to squeeze the thing.
> >
> > So the question is, is this the way the dough should be? As I said, we
> > have no other recipes for press cookies, so we really don't know what's
> > right, except that this doesn't seem to be, but if the dough is softer,
> > it doesn't separate from the extrusion die and stick to the cookie sheet
> > properly.
> >
> > Isaac
>
> AFAIC, Isaac, cookie press dough should not be refrigerated ‹ it
> stiffens the dough, as you've learned. Why have you been refrigerating
> it?

Because (I'm told by the "experts" in the family) that if it gets "too
soft" it won't separate from the press and stick to the cookie sheet.

Isaac

In article > ,
David Harmon > wrote:

> On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:07:31 -0800 in rec.food.cooking, isw
> > wrote,
> >In order to get the cookies to extrude properly and form the proper
> >shapes, the dough needs to be "refrigerator cold", which makes it
> >incredibly stiff. The kids twisted the original knob off the old one,
>
> What does the recipe call for, for shortening? Perhaps substitute a
> tablespoon or two of vegetable oil for butter to give a softer dough
> when cold?

They're butter cookies; that's the only fat in them. Trying to convince
the ladies to use oil would get me hurt.

Isaac