How to get the cookie off the cookie press

[nemo]

Okay, my cookie press is aluminum and has the trigger. It must be my mother's because my grandmother's had a twist dial on the top. For years, I always made the traditional from my childhood camels with a silver dragee for an eye, green wreaths with candied cherry holly, and green trees with sprinkles. Several years ago, I just could NOT get the cookies to stick to the sheet.

I made sure the sheets were clean and degreased, chilled the dough before inserting into the canister, chilled the canister, chilled the sheets, and combinations thereof. I just couldn't make it work. I'm waxing nostalgic again this year for those little spritz cookies that just get better with time. Can anyone suggest a solution? Thanks!

[Boccone Dolce]

I had such a time with the Wilton cookie gun-it was awful. The recipe I chose had orange zest and cream cheese and it was so good raw a lot of it was eaten in the process! Just when I would get the hang of spritzing, the gun would go empty and the magic would drain out too because I could never get it flowing again. I will say that colder dough did not seem to help, it just sort of stuck there. I vowed not to go through it again this year but I'm looking at cookie recipes and love how cute the tiny trees, wreaths, etc look on the dish.

[cyberroo]

Aww, my cookie press doesn't have a camel.

I've found that warm dough and cool cookie sheets are the solution. I think you're overchilling the whole kit and kaboodle. I've had trouble even with using butter that wasn't soft enough, so I can only imagine how difficult it must be with everything chilled!

[Jennalynn]

I agree... warmish dough... coldish sheet.

The dough needs to be a bit warm so it's sticky.

I have used both a plain aluminum and the parchment. They both work.

[Angela Roberta]

Because I make these only once a year (and lately not even that often), it's hard to master this dough and technique. I have run into the same problem frequently. I think the dough has to be just the right temperature--not too cold, not too warm. So if you feel the dough is on the cold side, let it warm or keep working it. If it's on the warm side, let it chill in the fridge.

By the way, I am fond of the camel, too. Isn't it funny how some of the discs are duds and some winners? My mother likes spritz with vanilla extract, and I like it with almond extract. Maybe I'll make both this year. I'm feeling inspired now.

[nemo]

Thank you. Pan are aluminum. Maybe I'll try parchment paper. I thought that might be as bad as greasing the pans, but if it works for somebody, I'll try it! Thanks again.

[stilton]

I've had problems with getting the extruded dough to stick to parchment paper during the first few tries when the dough is cold. As it warmed up during use, the dough stuck more easily to the paper. Maybe you should wait a few minutes after loading the press before using it.

[VTtoMAtoCAfoodie]

I had the same problem last year. Are your cookie sheets nonstick? If I remember correctly, l ended up only getting the cookies to stick to a really old alluminum pan I had. All of my newer cookie sheets were too slick.