Chocolate Press Cookies

I'm going to blame this new kitchen gadget on my mom, and Amazon.com and their 4 for 3 deal on kitchen gadgets. Every Christmas my mom talks about how she wants to make Spritz cookies. Usually we don't. Mainly because we have lost some part to the cookie press or we just plain forget. Despite this my mom is still nostalgic about them. Nostalgia about food is something I understand. Especially with foods associated with holidays. I love making Christmas cookies and giving them to friends, I also really like receiving colorful tins lined with a variety of delicious holiday treats. So as a way to learn about my mom's love for the cookie press I decided to get one of my own.

Our friend invited us over to watch some college football and eat some amazing BBQ. I usually bring desserts to events like this so I had to decide what to bring. I know pressed cookies are usually associated with the holidays, but my new Kuhn Rikon Cookie Press said on the box that these cookies weren't just for the holidays anymore. It even came with a variety of disks to make different themed cookies. Since it is Autumn I decided to go with the pumpkin shaped and one that is called Abstract, basically a squiggly shape. There is even a dinosaur shaped disk, although I think it looks more like a camel or a llama.

I'm not much of a vanilla person, chocolate is much more my style. So of course I had to try the chocolate cookie recipe that was included in the manual. But oops, I grabbed the wrong measuring spoon and added nearly twice the amount of salt. Sometimes mistakes are for the best. I'm going to misquote what my friend said after eating about 20 of them. "You've captured what makes tortilla chips so addicting in a cookie". A great compliment for me as I find tortilla chips to be the most addicting food on the planet. So go ahead and add a little extra salt.

Chocolate Press Cookies
Adapted from Kuhn Rikon Recipe Book

2 sticks butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt (plus a little extra)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour

1) Preheat oven to 375 F
2) Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy, then add vanilla, egg, milk, and salt

3) Sift in cocoa and flour then mix with a wooden spoon

4) Place dough into cookie press and attach disk then press onto ungreased cookie sheets

5) If adding sprinkles, do this before baking
6) Bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from baking sheet and let cool
7) Decorate with frosting if desired then store in airtight container, or just eat them and enjoy!