On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 08:28:55 +0100, Merlin
> wrote:

>Does anyone have experience with a cookie pistol, a gadget which forces
>cookie dough through a nozzle to make cookies with different shapes? I
>have just bought one (I'm a sucker for special offers and reductions
><grin>) but there were no instructions or guidelines with it. I would
>like help, please, to get my first batch of dough ready. Hints and
>tips on ingredients, working temperature, and consistency will be very
>welcome.
>
>Thanks
>
>Merlin

I've had one for going on thirty years. Getting it to do what you want
is more a matter of "feel" than of instructions.

Recipes suitable for cookie guns are called "spritz" cookies. If you
don't have one you like already, make up a batch of your best
refrigerator cookie dough, and go to town experimenting. You can
always scrape up and re-use the mistakes.

The dough works best if it's slightly chilled and not too stiff. Too
cold and stiff, and it won't come off the gun; too warm and loose, and
it will get sloppy.

Hold the gun just over a cookie sheet that isn't overly greased, so
that as the dough is expressed it sticks to the sheet. When you have
the technique down, you will be able to lift the gun, with the cookie
staying behind.

If you start with fatter shapes, like ribbons and Christmas trees, you
will get less frustrated while you get a feel for your new toy. Once
you have it down, you can go for more delicate shapes, like snowflakes
and butterflies.

--
Chris Green