Fursecuri cu Unt Presate (Pressed Butter Cookies)

Name: Fursecuri cu Unt Presate (Pressed Butter Cookies)
Yield: 50 to 60 small cookies
Cuisine: Romania
Ingredients: 250 g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 100 g powdered sugar; 1 egg; 1 tsp vanilla; ½ tsp almond extract (optional); 350 g all-purpose flour; a pinch of salt

Also called spritz cookies, pressed cookies, fursecuri presate, fursecuri cu unt

Soft butter cookie dough pressed or piped into S-shapes, rosettes, wreaths and sticks.

Makes: 50 to 60 small cookies

Cookies Make ahead

Ingredients

Scale

Pan sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.

Method

Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Leave the baking sheets ungreased and unlined.
Beat the unsalted butter (250 g1 cup + 2 tbsp) with the powdered sugar (100 g¾ cup + 1 tbsp) until very light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the egg (1), vanilla (1 tsp) and almond extract (½ tsp) and beat until smooth.
Add the flour (350 g3 cups) and salt gradually, mixing until just combined. The dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky.
Load a cookie press fitted with your chosen disk, or a piping bag with a large star tip. Press or pipe shapes straight onto the bare sheets, which the dough needs to grip.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges just start to color. They should stay pale.
Cool. If you like, dip the ends in melted chocolate or sandwich pairs with jam or buttercream.

Notes

Temperature. Too cold and the dough won't press; too warm and it won't hold its shape. Use soft, room-temperature butter.
Piping bag. Chill the dough 10 minutes before piping so the shapes hold.