Recipe: Grandma's Spritz Cookies

As I promised in my post yesterday, I would get my Grandma's Spritz Cookie Recipe posted. So many people make these cookies, yet I have found the recipes differ from person to person. So, here is the way my Grandma made 'em and now, the way I make them! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks, room temp
• 2.5 cups sifted AP flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp almond flavoring (or butter or whatever suites your fancy. I like Almond!)

Cream together your butter and sugar. Add your unbeaten egg yolks & beat well. Mix in your flavoring and your food coloring. Slowly add your flour & salt in and mix well to combine. Fill your spritz press with your dough and then press out your cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake approx. 8-10 minutes at 375* (Oven cooking times vary depending on your oven!)

Other Options: Add sprinkles or candied cherries to your spritz cookies!

Holiday Baking, Take 1

This weekend I started my holiday experimenting baking. The funny thing about me and baking is that I am not much of a bakery type of gal. I don't really dig cake, or frosting's for that matter among other things. Yet, I seem to bake a decent amount.

So anyways, I started with something I honestly would never eat; Homemade Toasted Coconut Marshmallows! I know that sounds strange, but I am just not much of a marshmallow fan or coconut (in this form) fan either! Yet, I watched the Barefoot Contessa make them and then decided I needed to try them out. Hubby likes marshmallow and coconut so he could be the judge!

I must say, though I haven't tried one, they look and smell delicious and hubby is addicted to them :) He is requesting these be a new holiday tradition to be made every year!

Then I tired a 'new' recipe from a cookbook I picked up at a local antique store copyrighted from the '60's. They spell 'cookie' as 'cooky' in this book - cracks me up! Anywho, these are Butter Waffers (recipe to come soon for those interested). Because they contain Allspice, I thought they had a slight pumpkin pie-ish taste and hubby said they tasted like a Snickerdoodle. Regardless, they were good!

And then last, but not least, I whipped up two batches (to start) of my Grandma's Spritz Cookie recipe :) I know I said I am not a bakery fan, but these spritz cookies do me in; I think I ate half my inventory today! I don't know what it is, but I LOVE these :) And I even use Grandma's old crank & turn Spritz press to make them! These keep well so I will be doing a few more batches in other Spritz shapes and in green color too. I might even experiment dipping some in chocolate.

I know everyone's Spritz recipe can vary and I am happy to post my Grandma's to share...soon. Right now, I have OD'ed on cookies and milk (gesh, this kid sure has me craving things I normally do not eat!) and it is time for me to hit they hay!