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In this issue:
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* Gifts for your favorite cook (and special savings too)
* 10% off name brand cookware until December 2
* Recipes: Cookie Press Cookies
- Mint Kiss Spritz
- Chocolate Chip Spritz
* The best cookie presses
* New recipes at Christmas-cookies.com
* Tips on making cookie press cookies
* Read our previous newsletter for more tips and recipes
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--Gifts for your favorite cook (even if it's you!)
Who's your favorite cook? Is it the weekend baker who always seems to have something
sweet to eat or the wildly creative, international chef who likes to try it
all? Maybe it's The Bartender or the Grill Master. This holiday, shop with us!
We have everything for the cooks you know and love, and the gifts they would
love to have most in their kitchen! Also, hot deals from Kitchenaid, Henckels,
Cuisinart, and more! Just click here: http://www.christmas-cookies.com/cooksgifts.html
--10% off name brand cookware until December 2
For the aspiring chef on your list, our collection of cookware includes the
finest brands at fantastic prices! Now is the best time to buy with a savings
of 10% Off * Cookware, a $25 Cooking.com Gift Certificate when you buy All-Clad,
and several Gift With Purchase promotions! For more information or to buy, go
to http://www.christmas-cookies.com/cookwaresale.html
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--Recipe: Mint Kiss Spritz
These buttery, minty spritz cookies are topped with a Hershey's Kiss
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
green food coloring
60 Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped
Preheat oven to 400F. In large mixer bowl combine sugar, butter, egg, salt, vanilla, and mint extract. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in green food coloring, adding just enough to achieve the desired color. Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Immediately after removing cookies from oven place one Hershey's kiss on each cookie.
See below for tips on making perfect cookie press cookies. For more cookie press recipes visit http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/category.phtml?catid=31
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--Recipe: Chocolate Chip Spritz
A modern twist on an old favorite
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup coarsly grated semi-sweet chocolate
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 400F. In large mixer bowl combine sugar, butter, egg, salt, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour and coarsely grated semi-sweet chocolate. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 2 to 3 minutes. Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
See below for tips on making perfect cookie press cookies. For more cookie press recipes visit http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/category.phtml?catid=31
--The best cookie presses
We've combed the Web for the best deals on cookie presses. You'll need a cookie
press to make today's delicious (and beautiful) cookies, so purchase one now
in time for the holidays and WOW your guests with you baking prowess. We've
found that some of the best cookie presses ever made are no longer manufactured
so we're starting with two classics that you can easily find used at ebay. We've
also added two state of the art selections.
* Electric Cookie Presses
Once you own one of these you will never go back to manual. The problem? They
don't make them anymore! But don't worry, they are readily available used and
in good working order on the popular auction site, ebay. To get yours, go to
: http://www.christmas-cookies.com/ebay.html
and type "electric cookie press" in the search box. You will find
several up for bid, but the Wearever Super Shooter is the best. Happy bidding!
*Classics Never Go Out of Style
The Mirro Cooky & Pastry Press has been around for 50 years and never changed
in all that time. They are still being used in kitchens everywhere. Again, sadly,
they are no longer made, but you can get them used at ebay. Just click here:
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/ebay.html
and type "Mirro cookie press" in the search box.. There are many of
them for sale, but try to get a complete set with the original 12 discs, 3 pastry
fillers, and the recipe booklet. Good luck!
*Versatile, easy to use, and a great price!
The Cookie Press by Kuhn Rikon: Make more than just cookies using this one-handed
Cookie Press. The stainless steel trigger mechanism allows easy, one-handed
cookie or pastry making using any of the 20 interchangeable disks. Included
are 6 pastry nozzles for custom decorating cookies, cakes and more. Use it for
filling hors d'oeuvres or piping mashed potatoes onto entrees. A see-through
plastic barrel lets you quickly determine how much of the contents are left.
On sale at Cooking.com for only $14.99. Click here: http://www.christmas-cookies.com/cookiepress.html
*Do it like the pros
The Atlas Deluxe Stainless Steel Biscuit Maker: In Europe they call cookies
"biscuits." With this Italian biscuit maker, it's easy to get the
same size and shape of cookie every time. Just put the dough in the cylinder,
choose small or large cookies, attach one of the 20 die-plates, and press the
lever; the precise amount of dough is automatically pumped out onto your cookie
sheet. Your cookies will look store-bought perfect, but taste oh-so-much-better
because you baked them yourself. On sale now for $19.49 Click here: http://www.christmas-cookies.com/cookiepro.html
--New recipes:
Almond Cream Spritz
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe.php?catid=31&recid=281
Angel Whispers
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe.php?catid=31&recid=282
Snowflakes
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe.php?catid=10&recid=279
Chocolate Chip Tea Cookies
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe.php?catid=19&recid=276
Napoleon Creams
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe.php?catid=6&recid=277
Buttergeback
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes/recipe.php?catid=10&recid=278
--Tips on making the best cookie press cookies
Many people complain about having a hard time getting their dough to the right
consistency for use in a cookie press. Often it is too soft and spreads too
much, or else it is too dry and cracks. Here are some tips for making perfect
cookie press cookies.
*Butter or shortening?
For many people, the answer to the problems with dough consistency is to use
shortening-either regular or butter-flavored-instead of butter. However, with
shortening what you gain in consistency you lose in taste. Nothing tastes the
same as real butter. Plain shortening will give your cookies a bland taste and
butter-flavored shortening tastes "fake" to discriminating palates.
Use a quality butter, and use the following tips to maintain the proper consistency
of your dough.
*Butter temperature
Most cookie recipes call for softened butter, or butter at room temperature.
For cookie press cookies however, you should use butter out of the refrigerator.
You will need an electric mixer to cream cold butter properly. If you are mixing
by hand, let the butter soften slightly but remain cool. Cream the cold butter
very well before you add any other ingredients. When you add the sugar, continue
mixing until the mixture is light and fluffy but not over-creamed, in which
case the butter starts to melt and become too soft.
*Amount of flour
You do not need to add the exact amount of flour that the recipe calls for.
Differences in types of flour and in the size of the eggs used sometimes make
it necessary to omit some of the flour or to add a little bit. Mix the flour
into the dough in small batches and stop when the consistency seems right. The
dough should be soft and pliable, not crumbly. Test it by placing a small amount
of dough in your cookie press and pressing a few cookies. If it isn't right,
add a small amount of flour if the dough is too soft, or if the dough is too
stiff, add an egg yolk.
*Temperature of the dough
Use the cookie dough at room temperature; do not chill it to make it firmer.
If the dough is too soft, add a small amount of flour.
*Your cookie sheet
Use an ungreased cookie sheet for cookie press cookies. If desired, you can
use a non-stick cookie sheet or line the sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment
paper. Whether or not you use a liner, the cookies will slide off easily if
you remove them while they are still warm. Clean your cookie sheet after each
use to remove crumbs and residue left from the last batch. It is very important
to allow your cookie sheet to cool off completely before you press more cookie
dough onto it.
*Handling your cookie press
For most shapes, hold your press straight up and down while pressing cookies.
Hold it at an angle if you are making elongated shapes such as ribbons. When
you press the cookies, do not allow the cookie dough to bulge out from under
the press: just press out enough so that the dough sticks to the cookie sheet.
Release the pressure on the press before you lift it up from the cookie.