I've got a cookie gun and I'm not afraid to use it!

Huh? Is it the beginning of December already? Time to upgrade to holiday baking mode! But not all at once, please. We want to move slowly for the first couple of days to avoid sugar shock.

That's where my secret weapon comes in. It likes to hide behind all my other myriad kitchen gadgets and only comes out to play in December.


what the heck is that thing?

It's a cookie gun, also known as a cookie press or a cookie shooter, and it practically makes your cookies for you. You do, however, still have employ a teensy bit of elbow grease and mix up the dough. A recipe that works well in my cookie press is Whipped Shortbread. I usually make half a batch at a time because I find it easier to work with. And because if I made a whole batch I would eat a whole batch. Not a good thing.

Make sure to whip the dough thoroughly to ensure melt-in-your-mouth cookies.


Who wants to lick the beaters?


Once the dough is made, all you do is fill it into the cookie gun and squeeze the trigger. A cold, ungreased baking sheet is the key to making the cookies release from the press and stick where they're supposed to. Something to do with chemistry. Or maybe physics. Oh, I don't know. Does it really matter?

I chose a flower shape this time, but the machine also comes with a bunch of other designs on the little discs you insert into the front where the dough gets pressed through.




A small piece of candied cherry (it's never too early in the season to start ingesting preservatives and artificial colouring!) in the middle adds the finishing touch and these babies are ready to go into the oven.




These cookies need to be watched carefully because they can go from pale golden to charred in seconds. I baked mine for a little less time than called for in the recipe and they came out lookin' like this:



armed (with tons of butter and sugar) and dangerous (but only to your waistline)


UPDATE: OK, guys, bifocals ON. There's already a link to the recipe in my post but I'll make it easy for you. Click -->HERE<--