by Cynthia Light Brown
I grew up making Spritz cookies for Christmas. My dad would
make several double batches with his 3 little girls dipping our fingers in to
snatch some dough with the smell of almond extract wafting through the house and
the dog gobbling up any cookies that fell off the table in the chaos. We always
made green Christmas trees and rose poinsettias and if we were feeling bold
maybe some yellow stars. The trusty Mirro cookie press clicked along for years
and years pushing out probably thousands of cookies.
I have tried to make Spritz cookies. I got a cookie press
from Williams-Sonoma a few years back for too much money. I tried for 2 years
before admitting that the fancy ratchet design was just not working. I always
gave up after one tray of cookies. Then I tried a Kitchen Aid cookie press with
a somewhat different, but still fancy ratchet design. Still didn’t work. Then
last year I tried a cheap cookie press. No comment. Mirro didn’t sell cookie
presses anymore.
Ebay saved the day. Last January my new-old Mirro cookie
press arrived for about $15. It was old, with a simple turning motion, even a
little rusted. I tried it last Saturday and we now have hundreds of lovely,
perfectly shaped green Christmas trees and rose poinsettias and even some bold
blue snowflakes. I am in almond heaven.
There’s nothing wrong with fancy. I like a fancy dinner now
and then, and I love my new-fangled iphone. But if you have a complicated plot,
it needs to be based on a simple, solid structure. Original is over-rated if
that’s all you have to offer; our favorite stories are ones that resonate in
deep ways. Boy meets girl. Stranger comes to town.
There and back again.
Recipe for Spritz Cookies
1 c. shortening (can substitute 1/2 with butter)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon almond extract
food coloring (optional)
Cream the shortening. Slowly add sugar while beating. Add egg and other ingredients. Add coloring if desired. Put in a Mirro cookie press and press to your heart's desire.
Recipe for Spritz Cookies
1 c. shortening (can substitute 1/2 with butter)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon almond extract
food coloring (optional)
Cream the shortening. Slowly add sugar while beating. Add egg and other ingredients. Add coloring if desired. Put in a Mirro cookie press and press to your heart's desire.
