Party Time

Dear Wilton Industries:

Thank you so much for the incredible 2012 Cake Decorating Yearbook sent to me a few months ago. I apologize that this note has taken weeks to be written, but you as a world-wide industry leader must know how busy life can get, especially around the holidays. I’m sure you say to yourself, “so many cakes and cookies to decorate, so little time”. So even though this expression of appreciation is slightly tardy, it is still filled with innumerable amounts of gratitude for the sweet gift (pun totally intended).

Now I do have to confess that I was a bit confused as to why this comprehensive catalog of detailed instruction, creative products and delicious photography landed on my doorstep. I mean I am not known for my amazing cake and cookie baking abilities. In fact, if I mix up a batch of batter or dough, I consider baking it as an option, not a requirement. Needless to say words like royal icing, floating and fondant (which thank goodness is in the computer’s spell check) are all foreign to me. Why then would such a spectacular and awe-inspiring issue be, for lack of a better term, wasted on a confectionary neophyte such as me?

I can only surmise that one night in a sugar-induced insomniac state while perusing the world-wide web you discovered the humble Party Time Blog for which I provide the verbiage for and noticed the lack of Wilton representation. This neglect, I am sure, is what prompted you to send me a copy of the yearbook. You knew that once I had an opportunity to devour this year’s delectable edition, I would be inexplicably drawn to the wonderful world of Wilton and all of its endless imaginative possibilities. You sir, were right!

So as a token of my sincere regret for the lack of attention, I submit the following blog entry. I hope that in some way it will make amends for the deficiency of Wilton posts. Please also know that I will do my best to show more Wilton love over the course of the next year. Your sensational catalog has inspired me to try a few more exciting techniques and products so I hope you will check back periodically to see what other kinds of Wilton adventures I get myself into.

With kindest regards for a scrumptious 2012,

Frosting Fumbler from Texas





For the Love of Wilton: A Cookie Press Adventure

My first Wilton adventure needed to be small. Small expectations. Small time commitment. Small investment. It was the holiday season and I was out of energy. Out of time. And definitely out of money.

I opted to try the basic Cookie Press model … I had heard about these contraptions before … heard mixed reviews actually, so I thought I might try to be the deciding vote. I mean hey, it’s an election year … all votes matter … right? Hmmm.

Anywho, I picked up the press, a bottle of icing and a container of sugar pearls for less than $10. Everything was on sale so I didn’t even need to surrender a much valued 50% off coupon... score!




There are bigger, more ergonomically comfortable presses available from Wilton, but I was going for least expensive … this just in case my adventure went bust and the press ended up in the dusty forgotten pile of used kitchen gadgets that lives somewhere in my house. This modestly priced, manually triggered press came with 12 shape templates. Just enough to get my feet wet.




Since the Wilton people have been baking for a lot of years, I decided not to deviate from their tried and true Spritz Cookie Recipe found on the press’ box. I loved that the ingredient list was fairly short and did not require anything I had to hunt down in a specialty food shop. Thank you Wilton!




Unlike my normal cookie routine of dump and spin, I actually took the time to mix the dry ingredients separate from the wet and add them gradually as was suggested. Why tempt fate when you are under a strict time constraint and only have two sticks of butter softened … just saying.




The finished dough was pretty stiff. I used all constraint I could muster not to add some liquid and if I had had milk in the fridge that wasn’t on the verge of rancidity, I might have added a teaspoon or two … but whew! for resistance because the dough really needed to be stiff for things to work.




Loading the press with dough was fun. For the first couple of loads, I rolled the dough in a cylinder shape and slid it into the tube as the box said … but then I got impatient and just started shoving it in with my thumbs. Your call which method works best for you … just make sure you pack the dough tight and eliminate all air pockets.




After loading the dough, I put my desired shape template disk on the end of the tube and secured it in place with the nut-like cap. Make sure you can read the writing on the disk … otherwise there’s a whole lot of mess happening. Trust me.




Now pay attention here … I don’t think that Wilton does a great job of explaining this next helpful bit of info … as you can see in the right-hand picture, once you have the dough loaded, turn the knob at the end of the metal notched rod until the notches face down toward the handle.




This direction is needed for the trigger to work. Hubs informed of this fundamental tidbit after watching (and laughing at) me for 10 minutes as I struggled with trying to get the trigger to engage and advance the dough. Thanks sweetie! Glad I could provide you with some much enjoyed entertainment : ). Once I was locked and loaded, I began spritzing …

Here’s my trigger form on the first few attempts to press.




And here are the results of my first pathetic attempts at pressing.




After another sheet full of mess, I did what every novice baker does … expressed a few choice expletives as I threw the press to the counter and ate a few (ok, quite a few) comforting spoonfuls of dough. I then called my friend Leslie who has had some experience with these tools and asked her for some assistance … or at least some validation that I was not a complete idiot. She was helpful on both accounts … she had a great technique suggestion and was able to assure me that in at this one area, I was not a complete idiot. Yay!

She thought I needed to modify my trigger form … that after I released the trigger, I needed to twist and pull the press away from the cookie sheet. Once I combined that method with using my free hand to firmly hold the cookie sheet in place, I had an almost 95% success rate! Yay! (Ok, that was a totally random number, but you get the idea … my cookies got WAY better looking.)




There were times when one of the petals on my cookie flower would not release. My solution? Pull it off, re-shape it, place it in the empty spot and squish it into submission.




Here are the results of my third sheet full of attempts. Sahweet!




The cookies got baked at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. In my oven, 10 was the magic minute threshold for ever-so-slightly brown cookie edges.




Viola! Baked and stacked to cool cookies. Yum!




Now … here’s where I get a little critical of Wilton’s packaging. When I picked up this bottle of cookie icing, I saw the picture of carefully outlined cookies and assumed that I could do the same thing with its contents. Well, you know what happens when one assumes : ). Not so much lining going on as spreading pools. The icing is just that … icing … and by means of its definition, it’s runny and boy did it run all over the cookies.




My solution? A SMALL THIN application of icing to each petal … less was more as it spread out and dried. I did try embellishing a few lines with sugar pearls but quite frankly … they were way too time consuming and I just couldn't muster enough desire to impress people by doing any more than just one cookie. Lucky person who got that one!




If you have the time and patience, knock yourself out … but for me and my ADD personality, I opted for … sprinkles! When all else fails, add sprinkles! They are the magic fix for all confectionary disasters … another one to trust me on … they hide a myriad of baking mishaps.




Here are all 6 dozen cookies ready for packaging. The recipe said something about a 7 to 8 dozen yield (and maybe I would have gotten that much if there hadn’t been so much sampling going on) so just keep those numbers in mind if you need to get a very specific quantity.




Now because you dear reader know that I’m all about two-fers, I decided to kill two responsibilities at once with this cookie press adventure: a blog post and cookies for my hubs to gift to church families he visits on a monthly basis. I found these cute Wilton boxes for cookie packing … I loved the window and especially loved the Wilton Print label feature … whew! less time needed at the computer!




I went to wilton.com and found the Wilton Print button on the left-hand side of the screen. I choose the “Use MS Word Templates” option and then entered the stock number into the right-hand box. The template download window opened and I followed the prompts.




Once downloaded, I opened the label template up in MS Word, typed my info, loaded my printer with the sheet of enclosed labels and then hit the print button. Easy peasy!




Here are my finished boxes, all ready for hubs to deliver and for you to be inspired by!




All in all, it was a fun and educational adventure. Only a few hiccups that I’m sure will not be issues the next time I put the press to use … and yes, I will certainly be using it again … can’t beat how quick you can mass produce 6 doz cookies … maybe an hour tops?

So dear reader, show Wilton some love and try the Cookie Press. Maybe do a trial run before the Valentine’s rush hits and your kid tells you the night before that he needs 6 dozen cookies in the morning for the choir party (been there, grumbled through that). It’s an adventure worth taking!

Happy pressing!

~ Elizabeth (ekb)


** No Wilton products were harmed or damaged in the making of this blog post. Wilton Industries you’ll be pleased to know produces quality and durable goods that will stand up to even the ugliest of novice baker tantrums. You can buy with confidence that Wilton products will perform and survive even under the worst of culinary conditions : ).