Williams Sonoma Cookie Press – Spritz Cookies

Last year for Christmas my mother bought me the Kuhn Rikon Cookie Press from Williams Sonoma.  In fact it is a bit confusing as the instructions inside say Kuhn Rikon and the packaging says Williams Sonoma?  Anyways, a cookie press is basically a cookie dough gun which presses out cookies in whatever shape that you choose from a selection of shaped discs.  I always assumed all the shapes were Christmas related, but in fact there are 12 shapes varying from hearts, stars, pumpkins, crackers and Fleur-de-Lys (useful for Quebec).

I approached the press with a bit of trepidation.  The FAQ in the instructions manual is quite long which led me to believe my odds of success would be pretty low.  In fact, this was one of the easiest and quickest batches I’ve whipped up in a while and I had virtually no issues.

I chose to go only with one shape, although it appears I could have switched discs mid-way through.  I used the Spritz Cookie recipe supplied with the press, and made the entire thing in my mixer even though it recommends mixing by hand at the end.

The cookies are tiny and do not really grow so do not be afraid to crowd them.  In fact, they are so tiny I picture them being the perfect size for kids.  You could make a variety in all sorts of colours and all sorts of shapes and I can see them being very attractive.

The actual taste was OK – I mean it was a pretty plain cookie.  The fact that it is in a shape is definitely the highlight.  I coloured mine using gel food colouring as one of the no-no’s appears to be using liquid food colouring which dilutes the dough.

One last tip, the dough does not fall off the price but rather sticks to the cookie sheet.  This means that you set the press right on the cookie sheet, pull the handle, and then pull up releasing it from the press.

I recommend you carefully follow the instructions, and you should be able to whip these cute little cookies up in no time.  I think it took me about an hour from start to finish including cooking time!

Note: I had to reduce my cooking time from the recommended 10-12 minutes to around 7 minutes.  I have a new oven which I am starting to believe is quite hot, but my oven thermometer still read 375F.  Check your cookies as you cook.

Spritz Cookies for a Cookie Press


1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Gel Food Colouring if desired

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy
• Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, cardamom and salt and gel food colouring if using.
• Mix in the flour
• Grab a clump of dough and shape into a tube shape.  Pack it into the cookie press fitted with the disc shape you want.
• Press the dough on an ungreased baking sheet
• Bake until lightly golden 6-8 minutes (actual recipe recommends 10-12 mins but I found this too long)
• Store in an airtight container 4 days or I bet these cookies would be fine frozen.