Cookie Press Sprits Cookies

It's Christmas goody season. Yummy! However, with baby girl due on Christmas Day I don't plan on making a lot of Christmas goodies this year. I'm definitely not feeling up to hours on my feet, baking in kitchen with a hot oven going full blast.. Trust me, there will still be fudge and most likely some Saltine Cracker Toffee too, but there probably wont be a lot of cookies. If I were going to make cookies I would probably make these, like I have the past couple of years. This is my Grandma's recipe so we always had these sprits cookies around Christmas along with a ton of other goodies. Seriously, between my mom and my grandma we probably had enough different goodies to feed a village and it was like heaven. Seriously, what little kid is going to complain about having access to all that sugary and chocolaty goodness?  Anyway, these cookies are especially great for giving away on little goodies plates. The recipe makes a ton of  little bites sized cookies and you don't have to take a lot of time to decorate them. Just toss some sprinkles on before they bake or toss them in some powdered sugar after they come out of the oven. They even taste fantastic left plain, like yummy danish butter cookies. Of course you do need a cookie press to make these, but even  the cheep $10 dollar cookie press I got at Ross gets the job done. Overall the process is so much easier than decorating sugar cookies. Don't get me wrong, I have fond memories of decorating and eating sugar cookies at Christmas as kid. I just don't feel like putting in the effort these days. Maybe I will when the little ones get older.

Sprits Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 1 1/2 cups  margarine
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 6 1/2 cups flour

Beat butter, margarine and sugar well, then add eggs and milk and mix well. Add flour, salt and vanilla mixing   by hand (I still use my kitchen aid, just on the lowest setting.) Using cookies press, press out cookies onto pan in desired shape. (I find it best  to use an ungreased cookie sheet that is cool, so if you are using the same pan for more than one round in the oven let it cool after it comes out of the oven before you true to press more cookies onto it. It also helps to pull the cookie press away really quick after pressing the cookie, so the cookie dough doesn't pull up off the pan when you pull the press away.) If desired sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon sugar, or sprinkles before baking. Bake 10-15 minutes at 375 F until edges are light golden brown. You can also toss the cookies in powdered sugar after baking.