December 08, 2010

Successful spritz!

Presses come in two styles: the older model that required turning a crank, and the newer "gun" model. A gun measures the dough for you and requires less hand strength. The crank models produce more interesting cookie shapes, like camels and the four suits of cards, and are made entirely of metal and therefore nearly indestructible in normal use. My first batches are made with a cookie gun until I get a feel for the dough; I switch to the old press for the better shapes. When my wrist gives out, it's back to the gun.

The ease of pressing the dough through the die is determined mostly by the softness of the dough, and the softness of the dough is determined by the ratio of fat and sugar to flour. The less flour, the softer the dough, the easier to press. However, the less flour, the more the dough will spread on the pan, and the stickier and harder to work with. Start with the least amount of flour suggested by the recipe. If the cookies spread:

• chill the dough if you didn't return it to the refrigerator
• cool the cookie sheets by running them under cold water (dry off before using, of course)
• add reserved flour, if you haven't already; note how much flour you used total
• use only shortening instead of a butter-shortening mixture, especially if the cookies are too hard to press

For better flavor, I like to substitute half butter for the shortening, although that does add some liquid to the dough. (Buter is nearly 20% water.) This can make the dough softer, too.

Spritz are a naturally good-looking cookie. To really impress Santa, the dough is easily dyed with food coloring (Christmas trees must be green after all); the lazier bakers can stop when they get an interesting marbled effect.