Classic Spritz Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375º F. Cream the butter and sugar until very smooth. Add the egg, milk, and extracts. Beat thoroughly. In another bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder, and gradually add that to the butter mixture. You may need to use your hands to make the dough smooth; knead until handleable. Do not chill this dough! Put the soft dough into a cookie press and make whatever shapes you desire; this is very versatile, but if you don't have a cookie press try rolling small balls and then using something interesting like a patterned bottom of a glass or some other kind of cookie stamp to smush it down, dipping the squisher in sugar first to help with sticking. Do not grease the cookie sheet; it needs to be sticky. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, the cookies should be lightly browned on the edges. Cool the cookies on a rack, not on the sheets.

Note: Recipe CAN be halved if need be, but halving an egg is difficult. Just beat the egg and estimate half of it, or better yet use an egg substitute and measure out the equivalent of half an egg.