My family loves to eat cookies.  Some of our favorite cookies are pressed cookies.  They are easy to make, equal in size and consistent in quality.  They are basically the easiest cookies in the world to cook the same repeatedly.  In order to make these we had to pick up a cookie press.  After looking at  various reviews online we decided to pick up an Oxo Cookie Press.  Next since it is Valentines day we decided to make some Valentines cookies.  This was easy as a few of the various cookie cutters included with the Oxo cookie press were hearts, flowers and teddy bears.  Perfect for Valentines Day!  The go to dough for these cookies, is Dana’s Mother’s recipe.  Thanks for letting me reprint this Jane.
Valentines Day Pressed Cookies
The key to this dough is to make it a day in advance. Â However, you can make it and use it after 30 minutes of chilling.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and Crisco and mix until soft.
Gradually add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy, roughly 5 minutes. Add the egg and mix until incorporated.  Then add the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup crisco
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups sifted flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
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The key to this dough is to make it a day in advance. However, you can make it and use it after 30 minutes of chilling.
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In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and crisco and mix until soft.
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Gradually add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy, roughly 5 minutes.
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Add the egg and mix until incorporated. Then add the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.
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In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt together.
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Turn the mixer to low and add the sifted dry ingredients into wet ingredients in 3 additions. Mix well after each addition.
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Don't worry the dough will be stiff. Shape dough into 2 logs and wrap in foil. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes but preferably overnight.
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Remove the logs from the refrigerator 15 minutes before you want to make the cookies. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
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Unwrap the cookie dough and place the dough log into the cookie press. Then press the cookies directly onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
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Once the cookies are formed, dust with colored sugar or candies.
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Bake 5 to 8 minutes at 375 or until light golden around the edges. The timing will depend on the size of the pressed cookie and desired shape. We found that the teddy bears took 5 minutes while the snowflakes took about 8 minutes.
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Once cooked remove from the oven, let cool on the sheet 1 minute then transfer to a cooling rack.