ImPRESSive Cookies

We had an old cookie press at Cebu Avenue.

Did it belong to my mother or to her mother? I honestly don't know. All I know is that the thing fascinated me. (I'm sure I considered asking for it before we moved to Australia.)

I think we made cookies using that gadget a long, long time ago.

A few weeks before MyGirl's birthday, I saw a cookie press at Victoria's Basement while I was browsing. I wasn't sure she'd appreciate one so when we went out and chanced upon a similar one, I asked her in passing whether she was interested in the thing.

I should have known that her answer would be an enthusiastic YES.

First chance I got, I bought her the cookie press for her birthday.

It was almost the end of February and the cookie press was still idle in MyGirl's closet. I figured I owed it to her to note down a recipe we could try, so I noted one down in our "orange notebook." (The 'orange notebook' is yet another of my recipe notebooks. I started this one close to New Year with the intention of diligently trying the recipes I would write there, as well as placing comments so that I would remember if the recipe was worth repeating or not.)

Among the recipes currently found in the orange notebook are mamon and taisan. I had the urge to make these when I got one-fourth piece of a mamon last week. The parents of my boss (who decided to retire in Manila) had just arrived for a three week visit and brought a lot of goodie (Choc-Nut, Nagaraya, barquillos, peanut brittle, mamon, etc.) for their family which she was kind enough to share with us.

So last Sunday, when MyGirl asked if we could bake something, I asked her if she wanted to make mamon/taisan or the caramel spritz cookies using the cookie press.

I should have known that the answer would be cookies. (In all honesty, I am the one craving for mamon/taisan.)

So it was settled -- cookies then.

"Bring out the butter and the eggs, MyGirl."

MyGirl did most of the work. The cookies turned out perfectly. We managed to make about 75 cookies so we had a "budget" of 15 cookies each.

YUM!

I would have wanted them a tad sweeter, but that is just my sweet tooth talking.

They turned out beautifully. MyGirl brought some to school to share with her classmates. When they saw the cookies, they asked her if she BOUGHT them.

Isn't that just the best compliment? Ü