Try and try again
Written: Apr 11 '03 (Updated Apr 11 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Ease of Cleaning: |
|
|
| Style: |
|
|
|
Pros: Fun to make different shapes for different times.
Cons: hard to get used to...
The Bottom Line: Go ahead and try it. Once you get the hang of it you will love the great cookie shapes you can make for different occasions. Kids think it is fun!
|
|
|
| stamper4god's Full Review: Pampered Chef Baking Basics Cookie Press 1525 |
I bought my cookie press at a Pampered Chef party that my aunt had because just about everyone else at the party was getting one. Not just that, but my friends all had one and it was close to Christmas and we all wanted to make fun shaped Christmas cookies.
After anxiously waiting for it to come so I could use it, it came. 4 weeks later I got it. I was so excited! I bought all the ingredients for the cookies according to the recipe that came with the cookie press. I got out my baking stone, also from pampered Chef and began to mix ingredients.
I finally had all the dough ready to load into the press and read all the directions and still had advice in my head that my pampered Chef lady gave me. She said to squeeze the handle till it clicks and then give it a quick little squeeze again before lifting the press straight up.
Well, I did this...about 30 times! Every time I tried to make a cookie it would all clump up in the bottom of the press in a ball misshapen lump and did not at all resemble a Christmas tree.
I called my pampered Chef lady and she told me to hold till it clicks and then not do an extra little squeeze. I tried this too and the dough would not even come detached form the press. I had to pull it off with my hands which deformed my poor "tree".
I kept trying it and used different timing methods of squeezing the handle and a few cookies came out ok. But, my new problem was that they did not stick to my stone as it was too hot after one batch has come out of the oven already! No matter how well I squeezed the handle on the press, the dough would not stick to the sheet thus I again had to try and get it detached with my hands and had weird shaped cookies. I got so frustrated I took the dough out of the press and shaped it into balls and made round cookies.
About a year later I tried again. I paid money for this thing and i was going to use it! I called my Pampered Chef lady again and told her again what happened and she said a few others have had the problem with the hot stone. She suggested using Parchment paper on the stone. I did this and had a bit more success but I still did not have the hang of squeezing the handle just right. I counted to 3 and did extra click like I was told but to no avail. I usually had about 4 cookies out of a batch that looked somewhat like the shape I intended and the rest were round circles.
Again about a year later(just recently) I thought I would try one more time and if it did not work I would sell it or try and give it away.
I got out the stone and the parchment paper and I went to work.
I put the parchment paper on the table and not the stone as the paper gets too hot if on a hot stone and this does not allow the shape to detach from the rest of the dough. I als0o experimented with the different discs for shapes. I found some to be easier than others but I did notice that not all are alike. I do not mean just in looks but in the time you need to squeeze the handle! What a revelation! I decided I would disregard all the things my demonstrator told me to do and just experiment. I got a couple batches of neat shapes! The 3 second rule and extra squeeze may work on one or 2 of the discs but not all of them. I tried everything I was told but I never used a different disc. This is why it never , ever worked no matter how much I followed what I was told.
You really need to experiment with these and get a hang of what discs need the extra squeeze after the click and. also climate is a big factor. If it is humid out then you need to squeeze a little more than if it is cooler or dryer. (At lease this works for me) I do suggest using the parchment paper and press the cookies onto it while it is on your table or counter and then transfer the entire sheet, cookies and all, to the stone or baking sheet. This keeps the surface cool till you need to bake them even if you just took your stone out of the oven.
And, experiment, experiment, experiment! That is the key. Once you get the hang of your press you will love it and be able to use it with ease each time because you know it's "quirks" .
My son who is 3.5 yrs love to watch me make cookies with it. He gets all excited about the shapes and watching to see what will come out of the press each time we make a new cookie! Who knows, maybe I will let him try it next time and he'll get it first try. (smile)
I now love my press and would recommend it to anyone as long as you are willing to work with it the first couple times to get used to it. Then the fun begins!
Few facts...
You can not make cookies with nuts, raisins or chocolate chips in them. They will not come out very easily or at all. There is a guarantee from Pampered Chef for the item if it anything happens to it 5 yrs from your date of purchase, they will replace it free.
There are about 20 or so different discs to make many shapes. barrel is clear so you can see what you have in there. It is easy to clean. I throw mine right in the dishwasher after taking it apart. The box it comes in has slots for all the discs to sit in so it is easy storage.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 27.00
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
stamper4god
|
|
Location: SW, FL
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.