Hi all,

Christmas is almost here, time for good lunches in family and fun times. I was looking for something special to make for eating with coffee, or something to give to kids.

I bought on the Internet something totally new for me : a biscuit press. It's basically a big syringe, were you put biscuit dough inside, and by pushing the dough through specific caps, you can create small butter biscuits.

I don't have yet a good knowledge and good skills for this, but I am now able to make "edible" biscuits. I 'll share in this Instructable some tips and recipes, to make tasty butter biscuits !

Step 1: The Press

Let's take a look at the hardware...

The press is composed by :

a cylinder, the external part of the press
on one side, a nut, with a plunger, activated by a lever. A rack and pinion system allow the user to move down the plunger, step by step. An other part allow the user to select one or two steps when pushing down the lever, in order to choose a size for the biscuit.(Two steps : more dough : biggest biscuit)
on the other side of the cylinder, an other nut, with drilled caps made a kind of extrusion head, to release the dough on the cooking plate. The different cap patterns can made different shapes of biscuits. (I've got 20 different models of caps ! )
I also have some funnels, I don't really know how to use them.

Some elements are in plastic, you may not wash this in a dishwasher. Carefully clean the press before first use.

Ok, let's make some dough !

Step 2: The Dough Recipe

Ok, the basic recipe (given with the press) was not really good, so I changed it a bit. I also tried some other web recipes... So, to make a nice batch of biscuits, you will need :

250 gr of flour
100 gr of sugar
175 gr of butter
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Of course, it's one recipe, you may find other ones on the net. This one is tasty...!

Step 3: First Ingredients

Ok, get the butter, cut it in small cubes into a bowl, then put it into a microwave for about 10 seconds, just to heat up the butter. Once done,add the sugar, the vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and one egg yolk. Mix everything.

Step 4: The Flour

Ok, keep mixing the dough, and add the flour, spoon by spoon. One done, finish to mix the dough with your fingers. You may have a nice and smooth dough.

Meanwhile, turn on the oven at 150°C.

Step 5: Form the Biscuits

Ok, the fun moment is about to begin ! Don't worry, it's not as difficult as it looks.

Get cooking plates. I tried to use cooking paper, but it don't really works (the dough doesn't stick, and stays on the cap). I will try to test on silicone sheets. But on metal, it works. Don't put anything on it ! (No butter, no grease !)

Open the press, and fill it with part of the dough. Use your fingers, or a spoon. Choose a cap, put it inside the nut, then close it. My press have two settings for output size, it depends of the cap. I used both small and large settings.

So, put the press down to the metal plate (in contact), then push down the lever. Carefully move up the press. You should have a nice biscuit. If the result is horrible, just put back the biscuit into the dough bowl and try again. You will need a few attempts to get a nice result. If the biscuit is too small, try the larger setting.

Once the result is nice, put the press next to the first biscuit, and repeat...

Once the press is empty, don't directly fill it again, but open it completely : there is dough behind the plunger. Remove it (put it back into the dough bowl), put the plunger into the cylinder, then fill the press again. I tried two more caps. Again, you may need to change the size of the biscuits. Watch out, don't mix small and big biscuits on the same baking plate, as the baking times are different.

Continue the job until all the dough is used. To finish, I made a ball with the final dough, and I squeezed it on the plate, as it was impossible to put it into the press.

Step 6: Baking

Ok, the baking is, in my mind, the most tricky moment. As I bake directly on a metal sheet, I had some sticking problems.

Put the plates in the oven, 150°, for about 10 minutes (the biscuits are thin, so the baking is fast). Once you see a light brown line around them, remove the plate from the oven.

Immediately, unstick the biscuits with a wooden spoon or similar objects (just move them). They will keep baking for a few minutes, as the baking plate is still hot. If they are already baked enough, remove them form the plate and let them cool on a grid.

Step 7: Finishing

Ok, baking is done. You may eat then directly (let them cool first...!) or keep working on them. You can :

put some candied fruit on them (like cherries)
sprinkle sugar or cinnamon,
dive them into chocolate (Hmmm..)
do all above !

Just check for recipes on the web, follow your imagination or let the kids do the job. You can also add chocolate power directly inside the dough... In fact, just be creative, you can do tons of things with this. I need to practice more and test other recipes... Christmas is almost here...!

You can store the biscuits in a plastic box. Don't mix them with other biscuits, it may make them soften.

Thanks for reading, don't hesitate to share recipes and tricks !