• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large mixing bowl use a hand mixer to cream together the room temperature butter plus sugar. Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed until airy and fluffy.
  1.5 cups salted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar
• Add remaining wet ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
  1 egg, 2 tablespoons whole milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract
• Add 2 cups of the flour to the wet ingredients & mix on low to medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the edges as needed. Add the remaining 1.5 cups of flour and the baking powder & use hand mixer until everything is together, scrape down sides as needed.

  * SEE HOW TO COLOR THE DOUGH BELOW IF DESIRED.
  3.5 cups all-purpose flour, 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
• DO NOT chill the dough. The dough needs to be soft & room temperature for the cookie press to work.
• Fill cookie press with dough and with desired disks - assemble to the manufacture's instructions for your model.
• Time to press the cookies onto an UNGREASED cookie sheet (do not use nonstick pans, parchment paper, or foil). The dough needs to stick to the pan so when you pull the press away it will stay on the pan.

  Place the cookie press flat on the baking pan & gently press the lever/trigger until the dough forms onto the pan. Slowly lift the cookie press straight up so the dough releases.

  Repeat with the next cookie about 1.5" from the last cookie. These do NOT spread a ton so they can be relatively close together. Continue until you have the pan full. Top with sprinkles, colored sugars, candies, etc if desired at this time.
• Bake 9-10 minutes on the center rack of your preheated oven. The edges will be light golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet.
• Remove from the baking sheet and place on the wire rack to cool completely.

Coloring the Dough

• You can color all of the dough or divide it into separate bowls. I like to do 2 colors & plain for my holiday cookies. Once the dough comes together add 2-3 drops of gel food coloring & mix for 30 seconds.

  Add more if desired color is still too light.