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About the Zine: Spritz Zine: New and Interesting Recipes for Your Cookie Press

Midwestern Transplant Presents #3: Spritz Zine: New and Interesting Recipes for Your Cookie Press. “Spritz” are any cookie pressed through a cookie press or a large piping tip. Intimidated by that cookie press you got in a holiday swap years ago? I have tips on how to make the dough and press work for you. Seasoned pro but want to try some new recipes? Try one of the seven recipes I developed in addition to the classic vanilla/almond version, most of which were Patreon exclusives.

The front cover is printed on risograph by Paper Press Punch in Seattle.

Here’s a recipe from the zine/Patreon:

Chocolate-Orange Spritz

This tastes like a Terry’s chocolate orange thanks to a large amount of orange zest and some vanilla. No orange extract necessary.

Adapted from my Almond Spritz recipe

Equipment

• Cookie press (I use the Wilton Cookie Max)
• Stand mixer (recommended) or hand mixer
• 3-4 aluminum cookie sheets (not non-stick)
• 1 medium bowl
• 1 large bowl, if using a hand mixer
• Silicon spatula
• 2-3 cookie racks
• Thin metal spatula (for getting the cookies off the cookie sheet)

Instructions

Place cookie sheets in the refrigerator to cool.

Preheat oven to 350ºF/175ºC.

In a medium bowl, combine

• 3 cups (375 g / 13.2 oz) all-purpose flour*
• 1/2 cup (59 g / 2 oz) cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt

Set aside.

In the stand-mixer bowl (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), cream together

• 1.5 cups (345 g / 3 sticks / 12 oz) butter, at room temperature (should be soft but not melted)
• 1 cup (200 g / 7 oz) granulated sugar

on medium for 7 minutes until light and fluffy.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicon spatula. Add to the bowl

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 TBSP orange zest

then beat on medium for 5-7 minutes.

Remove bowl from stand mixer (or set aside the hand mixer) and mix in

• 2 TBSP (30 mL) milk
• the flour mixture

gradually with a spoon so as not to overdevelop the gluten until the dough is combined and no dry flour remains.

Do not chill–fill the cookie press with dough (I use a spoon or my hands for this), attach the disk you want to use. On an ungreased cookie sheet (no non-stick sprays, no parchment paper!), press out the cookies, about 1-inch apart. Usually one click of the plunger is enough–it sometimes takes a couple tries to get the first one out.

Decorate with

• sprinkles or sanding sugar – I used orange sanding sugar

Bake 10-12 minutes or just till the edges start to turn light golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes by setting the cookie sheet on a cooling rack. Gently transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely. When the cookie sheet is cool enough, clean it and return it to the fridge before pressing more cookies on it.

Store cookies in an air-tight container, preferably a metal tin (good for about 10-14 days).

Notes

*This dough is a little softer than the regular dough, so you may want to keep an extra tablespoon of flour on hand in case the dough is actually too soft to press. This may vary between the brand of cocoa powder–I tend to use organic ones I get in bulk but the brand varies based on the co-op or bulk store I go to.