My day baking 10 dozen plus cookies

Every year our town holds an annual Farm and Ranch tour.  You tour 3 ranches. This year we toured a tree farm, a Charlet cattle operation, and the ranch of a farmer who raises all kinds of fruits and veggies, built his own lake, and owns his own restaurant.A  lot of people come to the tours. It is all free, and you can pay $5 to attend the awards ceremony and BBQ lunch later. They always stop at a school or a church for bathroom breaks and cookies. The  local 4-H groups always make about 20 dozen cookies for the tours. We made 10 dozen (plus!) and another couple made the other 10 dozen. We made oatmeal raisin, chocolate chunk, white chip island cookies, pink spritz and green spritz. Our neighbor had given us a cookie press that worked wonderfully when it came time to make the spritz. We had trouble getting the press to work at first, but then we realized we were simply holding it the wrong way! Here's a brief history of spritz :

Spritzgebäck is a type of German cookie  made of eggs, butter, sugar, and flour.When made the right way, the cookies are crisp,slightly thin,and buttery. The German word spritzen means"to squirt" in English! As the name suggests,these yummy cookies are made by "squirting" the dough with a press fitted with a disk that has lots of little holes that are in a pattern on it (a cookie press) onto cookie sheets. You hold the press on the sheet, squeeze, then lift up! In the United States, the name  Spritzgebäck is often shortened to spritz.
Spritzgebäck is a common pastry in Germany and served often during Christmas season, but they can be made at other times, too.

Pink Spritz!!

The cookie press

Disk that goes in cookie press

Baked Spritz

We made little trees since we were going to a tree farm!

Then we made White Chip Island cookies. I wanted to eat one so badly! Mom said we had to wait until everyone else got one. So I did, and then there were none left!! So we had to make them all over again.:-)

Chopping macadamia nuts

White Chip Island Cookies

Number of Servings: 36

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg (ours was farm-fresh!)
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Makes 3 dozen cookies
 Directions:
Combine butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add in egg and vanilla. Stir till smooth. Add in all dry ingredients.

Bake 8-11 at 375 degrees