We're having a good deal of trouble getting our spritz cookies from our cookie press to separate from the cookie press and stick to the cookie sheet. Is there something we can add to the cookie batter to make them separate from the cookie press and attach to the pan more easily?
Baking – Spritz cookies not sticking to pan when pressed from cookie press
bakingcookies
Related Solutions
Gnocchi shaped? I am pretty sure they are Turdilli! .
It's a traditional Calabrian recipe: 
They are deep-fried:
And hot-soaked in honey too:
Same biscotti, slightly different shapes:
Bear in mind that fried cookies soaked in honey are a traditional treat for carnival and Christmas seasons all over Italy, so you may find many, many similar recipes. From http://www.marinacepedafuentes.com/2010_02_01_archive.html :
Evviva i Dolci di Carnevale rigorosamente fritti, che ricevono nomi diversi secondo i luoghi. In Toscana chiacchiere o trecce, e poi frappe laziali, castagnole romane, frittelle di riso molisane, fritole triestine, nigelan altoatesini, sfincitelle siciliane, tortelli romagnoli, bomboloni fiorentini, cicerchiata umbra e chi più ne ha più ne metta!
At left with figs syrup, at right with honey:
A full blown italian fritti feast:
A shop near my house sells turdilli (hold your envy)
Cookie Scoop, Muffin Scoop, Disher.... They come in all sizes and are useful for a whole lot (except I don't like them for ice cream). See here: http://www.kitchenconservatory.com/Dishers-and-Scoops-C461.aspx
Alton brown frequently uses these scoops for all sorts of things on "Good Eats", including his episode "The Muffin Method Man" where he uses a #20 scoop: http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season7/Muffin/MuffinTrans.htm
Another example of using scoops for muffins. http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2010/10/kitchen-tip-trick-for-filling-muffin-tins.html
Related Topic
- Baking Cookies – Speeding Up the Preparation Time for Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Baking – Why Do Cookies Fall Flat and Not Cook on the Bottom?
- Baking – How to Attach Printed Rice Paper Decorations to Cakes and Cookies?
- Storage Lifetime – How Long Can Cookie Dough Be Refrigerated?
- Baking – Squashing Cookie Balls vs. Slicing Them: Pros and Cons
- Baking – Three ingredient peanut butter cookies – how to improve texture
- Baking – Why are the cookies undercooked in commercial oven
Best Answer
As I understand your question, the problem is really that you can't get it out of the cookie press, and not an issue of the dough "flattening" once it hits the baking sheet. If that's correct, then there are a few different factors that could be contributing:
You might not be using a strong enough flour. I've always used a 1:1 mix of bread flour and pastry flour. All-purpose flour isn't great for spritz cookies and many home baking recipes do odd things to try to strengthen the dough to compensate, such as increasing the quantity of egg. Not much more I can say without knowing the specific recipe, but try to find a recipe that doesn't use AP flour.
You might not be using enough flour, or you might have added too much water or milk. The dough should feel relatively firm once it's well-blended, not soggy or watery. The preparation I use also contains a good quantity of icing sugar, which has its own starch; if you're using regular granulated sugar instead then that will be a contributing factor to sogginess/stickiness. Also don't forget to sift the flour.
Home baking recipes often make wild guesses as to the quantity of eggs, based on assumptions about the size and age of eggs you'll have. The ratio I use is 20:13:8:6:3 (flour:fat:sugar:eggs:milk/water), by weight obviously. If you use too much egg then you'll end up with a slimy texture that's hard to separate while raw.
You may have added the eggs all at once, which makes it difficult to incorporate without overmixing the dough (or not incorporating well enough, which again will give you that slimy texture). Make sure you're only adding one at a time.
If your recipe calls for oil as a fat, or you're substituting oil for something else, that could be a problem. Typically you'll want to use a mixture of about half shortening and half butter. You don't necessarily have to use shortening, but butter has a low melting point and melting will, again, cause your dough to become too wet.
Did you cream the fat(s) together with the sugar? That's another important step to getting the right consistency of dough. You should have a mixture that's light and fluffy before you add the flour, eggs, or milk.
Make sure you're adding the flour last, otherwise you risk overmixing.
As far as sticking to the baking pan itself is concerned, just line it with parchment paper and don't grease it. If you've made the dough properly then it will "set" and not sink.
FWIW, I also find it easier to pipe spritz cookies than to use a cookie press.