How to Use a Cookie Press | Wilton Blog (2024)

FAQs

How to Use a Cookie Press | Wilton Blog? ›

Using Your Press: Turn the plunger so the pointy end is facing the handle when you're pressing. Give it a couple presses to help push the dough down. Rest bottom of press firmly against an ungreased cookie sheet. Squeeze trigger to form cookie.

If it's too cold, it'll be hard to squeeze out of the pres. If it's too warm, it'll be too soft, and it won't hold its shape when baked. Holding your hand on the tube will warm the dough, so try to use just one hand on the trigger – place your other hand on the cookie sheet to keep it from moving.

Press out the excess air in the barrel with the plunger.

The plunger is the long, thin rod that goes in and out of the barrel. Grab the handle at the end of the plunger and push the plunger down into the barrel. Stop once all of the dough is packed down at the end of the barrel.

Your dough might be too thick or too cold. Let your dough sit at room temperature until it's soft enough to press through the disk. If your dough is at room temperature, double check that the plunger is in place. The pointy end should face the handle when pressing.

*Don't use non-stick cookie sheets as spritz cookies need to stick to the pan! *Also don't grease the sheets or use parchment paper. Spritz cookies release easily when made right! *Don't let your dough sit out so long that it gets dry or so warm that the butter begins to separate.

Cookie presses are useful tools for making perfectly buttery spritz cookies every time. The OXO Good Grips Cookie Press Set takes the top spot on our list for its ergonomic design and disk options.

Simply adding the flour to the stand mixer and beating it in runs the risk of overdeveloping gluten and giving you a tough or dense cookie (not what you want after all that work with the creaming). Instead, the best method is to add the flour and mix it in by hand, stopping as soon as no dry flour remains.

A manual cookie press is usually more affordable than an electric one, but it requires more physical exertion and can be tiresome after making a few cookie batches. Most electric cookie presses have a simple, one-button operation and let you cut cookies for extended periods without exhausting your arms and hands.

What is the difference between spritz and butter cookies? These cookies are nearly identical, except for one ingredient: egg. Egg makes the Spritz cookie dough a bit easier to work with, but it also helps the cookies keep their shape when baked.

No problem! To make spritz cookies without a cookie press, roll out the dough and use cookie cutters or a glass to cut out round shapes. Or, shape into one-inch balls and press them with anything that has a design, the bottom of a glass can leave a pretty design.

Can you use a cookie press to fill deviled eggs? ›

Use the fork to mash and blend the mixture until it is creamy. Fill each egg white with the yolk mixture. This can be done with a piping bag, cookie press, a trimmed sandwich bag, or just a spoon.

Ease of Use

There is a bit of a learning curve involved with using cookie presses. Most presses advise that each cookie should be one click or that the level should be squeezed once, but it may vary based on the press or even between disks used in the same tool.

Cookies spread because the fat in the cookie dough melts in the oven. If there isn't enough flour to hold that melted fat, the cookies will over-spread. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour. If your cookies are still spreading, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough.

Decorating spritz cookies jimmies, sugars or nonpareils.

If you add sprinkles after baking the cookie dough your sprinkles will not stick to your cookies without using melted candy or icing. Oftentimes, shaped sprinkles will melt in the oven so sticking with jimmies, sugar and nonpareils are best.

For crispest stamping designs, chill dough for at least 3 hours. Roll dough into balls slightly larger than golf ball size. Using cookie stamp, center over ball and push down until dough starts to squeeze out around stamp. Slowly lift/remove stamp.