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My wife is from New York City and whenever we go up and visit we always get a pound of butter cookies. They are delicious and unlike most cookies that you get everywhere else. They are light, flaky and have a slight almond flavor. They are ridiculously awesome. The other day, the great people from Zulay Kitchen offered for me to try one of their cookie presses. I jumped at the chance since I have been wanting to try my hand at butter cookies. I knew I needed some help, though, because I am horrible at using a piping bag. I figured the cookie press would be the perfect tool to make excellent little butter cookies.
I discovered this recipe while watching a Youtube video from Gretchen’s Bakery. It is a great series. I’m not sure if she keeps up on it, but the old videos are great.
Almond paste is quite dense. Therefore, I had to soften it in the mixer before using it. To do this, add the almond paste to a mixer and mix it on medium speed until it is light and fluffy. Once fluffy, remove the almond paste from the mixer and set aside for later use.
In the bowl of the mixer add the butter, shortening and sugar. Cream together until whipped. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the confectioner’s sugar. Once incorporated, turn the mixer up to high and mix for 3 minutes.
Add the egg whites, vanilla extract and almond extract to the bowl. Mix to fully incorporate. Roughly 2 minutes on high.
Turn the mixer to low and slowly add all of the bread flour. Keep mixing on low until fully combined. Make sure to stop the mixer and scrape the sides. You want to make sure that all ingredients are fully incorporated into your mix.
Fill your cookie press with the dough and squeeze the cookies out onto a chilled sheet pan. Make sure to spritz the cookies right onto the pan. Do not use parchment or a silpat.
For this recipe, I used the Zulay Cookie Press. It is a great little device. It is constructed out of stainless steel and aluminum and was the easiest cookie press to use. Fill the tube, add a die and squeeze. We are giving away one cookie press below to a loyal reader. Check out the bottom of the post for details.
The press came with 20 dies and 4 icing tips. I chose the flower die to make my cookies. It made perfect little cookies over and over again. Halfway through making the cookies, the dough started to get a little soft, so I placed the dough into the refrigerator to harden it up. I also put the cookie press in the refrigerator. Since the press has a full metal construction, it chilled perfectly and kept the dough ice cold for the rest of the cookie making process.
The press has two levels of cookie sizes that are adjustable with a simple knob. I chose the largest cookie size and they all came out perfectly.
Once you have the cookies pressed onto the sheet pans, you can decorate them with sprinkles or leave them as-is. My kids love the rainbow sprinkles, so we decorated almost all of them.
Bake your cookies at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until they start to be golden brown.
Remove your cookie pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for a couple of minutes. Then, move the cookies to a wire rack to completely cool them.
Once the cookies are cool, you can eat them as-is or make sandwich cookies with jam or chocolate.
On a side note – this was by far the easiest cookie press I’ve ever cleaned. Since all of the surfaces are smooth metal, they clean off easily with just hot water. Use a little soap to disinfect and your cookie press will be ready for the next round. If you don’t have a cookie press, I highly recommend the Zulay Cookie Press.
My wife is from New York City and whenever we go up and visit we always get a pound of butter cookies. They are delicious and unlike most cookies that you get everywhere else. They are light, flaky and have a slight almond flavor. They are ridiculous.
- 17 tbs Butter
- 7 oz Shortening
- 1 cup Confectioners' Sugar
- 2 tbs Confectioners's Sugar
- 3 oz Almond Paste
- 4 Egg Whites
- Pinch Salt
- 1.5 tsp Almond Extract
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3.5 cups Bread Flour
- Sprinkles, chocolate, jam for filling
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Almond paste is quite dense. Therefore, I had to soften it in the mixer before using it. To do this, add the almond paste to a mixer and mix it on medium speed until it is light and fluffy. Once fluffy, remove the almond paste from the mixer and set aside for later use.
-
In the bowl of the mixer add the butter, shortening and sugar. Cream together until whipped. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the confectioner's sugar. Once incorporated, turn the mixer up to high and mix for 3 minutes.
-
Add the egg whites, vanilla extract and almond extract to the bowl. Mix to fully incorporate. Roughly 2 minutes on high.
-
Turn the mixer to low and slowly add all of the bread flour. Keep mixing on low until fully combined. Make sure to stop the mixer and scrape the sides. You want to make sure that all ingredients are fully incorporated into your mix.
-
Fill your cookie press with the dough and squeeze the cookies out onto a chilled sheet pan. Make sure to spritz the cookies directly onto the pan. Do not use parchment or a silpat.
-
Once you have the cookies pressed onto the sheet pans, you can decorate them with sprinkles or leave them as-is. My kids love the rainbow sprinkles, so we decorated almost all of them.
-
Bake your cookies at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until they start to be golden brown.
-
Remove your cookie pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for a couple of minutes. Then, move the cookies to a wire rack to completely cool them.
-
Once cool you can eat as-is or make sandwich cookies with jam or chocolate.
Adapted from https://www.gretchensbakery.com/italian-butter-spritz-cookies/
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Disclaimer The Zulay Cookie Press was provided to me free of charge for my review. SavoryReviews.com did not get paid or compensated in any way for this review.
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