Pampered Chef Cookie Press

Are you looking to bake a delicious bouquet for someone special or just to spice up your Christmas, Mother’s Day, or Father’s day occasion? Well, whatever the case is, one way of spicing up the occasion is by baking some delicious melt-in-your-mouth morsels to share with your family and loved ones. But, during preparation, one factor that’s likely to slow you down is figuring out which type of cookies to bake. So, to give you a head start, this guide will get deep into the world of pampered chef cookie press to discuss 4 delicious cookie press recipes as well as how to use a cookie press.

Now, baking cookies is one of the best projects you can ever think of if you’re looking to fill your house with a delicious smell of freshly baked morsels. They’re easy to bake, with the help of a cookie press, and there are so many recipes you can consider if you’re looking to decorate your cookies to make them even spicier.

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What are Pampered Chef Cookies?

 

Now that we’ve mentioned the pampered chef cookie, how much do you really know about them? For those who don’t have any idea about them, pampered chef cookies are similar to sugar cookies only that they’re decorated with a hint of almond and tinted with a variety of fillings such as food color, sprinkles, chopped nuts, fruit pieces, and candy among others.

During preparation, the dough is squeezed inside a cookie press that uses a metal plate on the inside to shape it into beautifully shaped cookies. Due to the pressing mechanism of the cookie press, pampered chef cookies are also referred to as spritz cookies. Unlike sugar cookies and shortbread cookies, pampered chef cookies contain eggs in their recipe explaining the reason why they maintain their intricate shape when being baked.

 

 

Pampered Chef Cookie Press Recipes

 

1. Classic Spritz Cookies

 

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of softened butter
• 1 egg
• Gel food coloring
• Colored sugar sprinkles
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 ½ cups of all-purpose floor

Directions

1. Start by preheating the oven to temperatures of around 375°F/190°
2. Next, add butter and sugar to a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat them thoroughly for about 3 minutes on medium speed.
3. Add the egg and the vanilla and continue beating until they mix into a smooth cream.
4. Add the all-purpose flour, some salt, and a few drops of food color, and then continue mixing at low speed until it’s blended.
5. Once the dough is soft, pick your desired disk and fit it inside the cookie press before filling the dough inside the barrel of the cookie press.
6. Once that is done, press the dough onto the cookie sheet at least 1” apart. You can decorate the cookies with any fillings of your choice before baking them.
7. Finally, bake the cookies for around 10 – 12 minutes or until they turn to a golden brown color. In case you need to decorate them more after baking, you can use a drop of corn syrup to add the desired sprinkles.

Nutritional Information

Note that, the nutritional value per serving of this recipe is as follows; Calories: 152 kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Fat: 8g, Protein: 1g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Potassium: 19mg, Calcium: 5mg, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 275IU, Cholesterol: 27mg, and Iron: 0.7mg.

 

2. Cookie Press Shortbread

 

Cookie press shortbreads are perfect alternatives during the Christmas season. They’re very easy to make as all the ingredients needed are readily available in your local stores. These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are also delicious and very similar to our previous recipe (the classic spritz cookies). However, one major difference about this recipe is that it doesn’t contain eggs. The flavor and texture are also different from spritz cookies. So, with that said, let’s start the baking process.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of softened unsalted butter
• ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ cup of powdered sugar
• ½ cup of cornstarch
• 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Start by preheating the oven to about 350°F/175°
2. Pick a medium bowl and using an electric mixer, cream the vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and butter until they’re smooth.
3. Add the flour, cornstarch, and salt into the formula and continue mixing. Depending on your needs, you can add the food coloring to the dough to give it a unique shade.
4. Fit the dough into your cookie press and start pressing down the cookies onto the baking sheet.
5. Once the cookies are ready, place the baking sheet inside the preheated oven and bake for about 8 – 10 minutes.
6. Once they’re evenly cooked, remove them from the oven and place them in the wire rack to cool.

Nutritional Information

Note that each serving of cookie press shortbread contains; Calories: 116.3kcal, Protein: 0.9g, Carbohydrates: 10.9mg, Cholesterol: 20.3mg, Sodium: 54.9mg, Vitamin A: 236.4 IU, Saturated Fat: 4.9g, Potassium: 10.8mg, Iron: 0.5mg.

 

3. Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

 

When you’re approaching Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or any other special occasion that deserves a celebration, one surefire way of showering your loved ones with love is by baking some homemade chocolate shortbread cookies. So, if you’re looking for some cute crispy cookies to gift your loved ones, here’s a simple recipe you can consider.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• ½ tablespoon salt
• 1 ½ cups of unsalted butter
• 2 – 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• Decorations such as sprinkles and sanding sugar

Instructions

• Just like in previous recipes, start by preheating the oven to about 350°F/175°
• Pick a medium bowl and mix the all-purpose flour with the unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Pick another large bowl and mix the sugar, salt, and butter. Mix them thoroughly using an electric mixer (at Low Speed) until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• Next, add the egg and vanilla extract into the mixture and continue mixing them using an electric mixer for around 30 seconds.
• Add the flour/cocoa mixture into the formula and continue mixing (via an electric mixer) until everything has been incorporated. This will take around 2 – 3 minutes.
• Now that you’ve got a soft dough, start by fitting your desired ring into the barrel of the cookie press. Once that’s done, pack enough dough inside the barrel and start pressing down the cookies onto the baking sheet.
• Depending on your needs, you can opt to swap the rings to design cookies with different shapes. You can also decorate the cookies with various assorted sprinkles and sanding sugar.
• Once that’s done, place the baking sheet inside the preheated oven and continue to bake for around 8 – 10 minutes until the cookies are golden brown and evenly cooked.
• Transfer the cookies into a wire rack for them to cool down before being served.

Nutritional Facts

Calories: 180kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Fat: 10g, Protein: 2g, Sugar: 9g, Cholesterol: 15mg.

 

4. Gingerbread Spritz Cookies

 

In our last recipe, we’ll discuss how to bake gingerbread spritz cookies. When making these delicious cookies, you can use gingerbread flavors such as molasses, cloves, ginger, or cinnamon to give them a warm welcoming flavor. So, in this recipe, you’ll need;

Ingredients

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup of unsaturated butter
• 2 tsp of ground ginger
• 1 ½ cup of ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup molasses
• ½ cup of packed brown sugar
• ¼ tsp cloves
• ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Pick a large bowl and mix butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and continue mixing until the mixture gets soft, fluffy, and creamy.
2. Pick a separate bowl and mix flour, clover, ginger, salt, and nutmeg. Mix them thoroughly until they’re well incorporated.
3. Next, pick the bowl with the flour mixture and mix it with the first bowl containing butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix them thoroughly until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
4. Wrap the soft dough using a large plastic sheet and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes.
5. Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to around 375°
6. Next, shape the dough into small logs to make it easier for you to load them inside the cookie press. Load the cookie press with your desired ring and start pressing the dough to come up with uniquely designed cookies.
7. Make sure the cookies are at least 1” apart on the baking sheet. Finally, place the baking sheet inside the oven and bake for around 5 – 7 minutes until the cookies are slightly browned.
8. Allow the cookies to cool for around 2 minutes while on the baking sheet. Next, remove them and place them on the wire rack to cool completely.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 128kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 1.5g, Potassium: 101mg, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 68mg, Saturated Fat: 4g, Calcium: 10mg, Sugar: 5.5g, Iron: 0.9mg.

 

How to Use Pampered Chef Cookie Press

 

Now that we’ve discussed several delicious recipes falling under the pampered chef cookie bracket, what we haven’t mentioned yet is how to use a cookie press. As you can see, the cookie press is the backbone of each of these cookie delicacies as it’s the one responsible for shaping the dough into small batches of beautiful uniform cookies.

So, in case you’re not getting the right rhythm of pressing down the cookies to give them a beautiful shape and appearance, you don’t have to worry as this section will discuss some tips on how to use a cookie press.

• Step One: At this point, we will assume you’ve already mixed your ingredients and the dough is up and ready. Depending on the type of recipe you’re baking, you might be forced to freeze the dough for several minutes to make it chilled up and soft enough to work with.
• Step Two: Roll your cookie dough into a thin long log to make it easier for you to roll it inside the cookie press barrel.
• Step Three: Open the barrel of your cookie press to remove the ring at the bottom. Insert the dough inside the barrel and don’t forget to leave some space at the top (about 1”). This will make it easier for you to press down the dough without much difficulty.
• Step Four: Once you’ve loaded the dough, pick your preferred patterned disk and fit it inside the ring. Each cookie press comes with several disks so you only have to pick one and insert it inside the ring.
• Step Five: Once that’s done, screw the ring back into the barrel and twist it tightly. Next, place one end of the cookie press on the baking sheet and press the handle to push the plunger. The plunger is the one responsible for pressing down the dough onto the baking sheet to shape the cookies.
• Step Six: Continue pumping the handle of the cookie press to come up with cookies with comparable shapes and appearance. Make sure the cookies are at least 2” apart on the baking sheet.
• Step Seven: Once you’re done, disassemble the detached pieces using soap and warm water.

 

Pampered Chef Cookie Press problems

 

When preparing your pampered chef cookies, there are many things you need to keep in mind. One of those is how you prepare the dough from start to finish. The second one is squeezing the dough inside the barrel of the cookie press while the third part is pressing the cookie press to produce evenly shaped cookies. The last part is basically baking the cookies.

During the process, there are several major and minor mistakes you’re bound to make which can end up ruining the cookies making you feel helpless, frustrated, and overwhelmed. So, if you’re wondering what’s wrong with your pampered chef cookies, here are some common mistakes you might have made and how to fix them.

• The Dough is Too Stiff and Hard

After mixing the flour and the rest of the ingredients, there are times when the dough may appear too hard and too stiff to work with. If that’s what you’re experiencing, there are chances that your dough is too cold. To fix this, let the dough rest for about 10 minutes at room temperature before testing again. Another problem of dealing with cold dough is that pressing it using a cookie press will be quite challenging and the cookies might fail to come out whole.

• The Dough Doesn’t Adhere to the Baking Sheet

If this is what you’re experiencing, then it simply means you’re not using your cookie press correctly. To have perfect cookies with distinct impressions, you need to hold the cookie press upright in a vertical position to the baking sheet. From there, press down the exact amount of dough without making it too much or too little.

Another reason why your dough is failing to adhere to the baking sheet is when you’re using a baking sheet with a non-stick surface. Thankfully, this problem can be fixed by covering the surface of the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Simply splash some water on top of the baking sheet then add the aluminum foil on top. Press the cookies on top of the aluminum foil and proceed to bake.

• The Cookies Are too Hard and too Tough

This is a very common problem most people face when baking pampered chef cookies. If this is what you’re facing, then there are several key explanations. The first culprit is baking the cookies for a longer time or baking them under higher temperatures than recommended. To fix this, you need to bake the cookies at the exact recommended time as per the recipe instructions. Secondly, you can opt to buy a thermometer to inspect the temperature of the oven when baking.

Another common culprit is adding too many ingredients such as too much flour or more eggs than it’s recommended. This can cause the dough to harden making it difficult to handle. In the end, this can affect the cookies which will appear hard and too tough.

• The Edges of the Cookies Are too Crisp

Two reasons can explain why the edges of your cookies are getting too crisp. The first reason is working on a particularly hot kitchen. If the kitchen is too hot, the butter in your dough can melt easily causing the cookies to get overcooked on the edges. To fix this, you can try freezing the dough for several minutes to chill it up a bit.

Another possible explanation is when you press the cookies on a hot baking sheet. When you place the cookies on a hot cookie sheet, what happens is that the butter on the dough is likely to melt and start spreading leading to crispy edges. To solve this, leave the baking sheet to cool down completely before pressing the dough.

 

Conclusion

So, are you searching for a creative way to enjoy the festive season with friends and family? Well, one surefire way you can accomplish this is by grabbing your kids, your siblings, your friends, or your grandkids to decorate some royal cookies such as the pampered chef cookies. Although the project is really fun, there are a lot of things you need to understand regarding this delicious recipe. Thankfully, this guide has discussed everything you need to know about pampered chef cookies in terms of what they are, the different recipes involved, how to use a cookie press, and the various problems you’re likely to face when baking your cookies.