Shamrock Spritz Cookies

My dad is 100% Irish.  Every year on St. Patrick's Day, my parents have a party with a full blown Irish spread of Irish stew, corned beef and cabbage, potatoes Kilarney, red skin, and many more yummies.  About 10 years ago, I started making Shamrock spritz cookies with a recipe that I recieved years ago from The Pampered Chef.  Every year since then, I am requested to bring them!  Talk about yummy, buttery deliciousness!



Classic Spritz Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) butter (3 sticks), softened 1 cup (250 mL) sugar 1 egg		1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract 3 1/2 cups (875 mL) all-purpose flour Colored sugar or sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
1.	Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed of electric mixer about 3 minutes or until creamy, scraping down sides as necessary. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Add flour; mix on low speed just until blended, scraping down sides as necessary. (Dough will be soft; do not refrigerate.)
2.	Fit Cookie Press with desired disk (see Cook's Tip); fill with dough. Press dough onto Cookie Sheet 1 in. (2.5 cm) apart. Decorate cookies with colored sugar or sprinkles, if desired. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool cookies 2 minutes on Cookie Sheet; remove to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.
Yield: 6-7 dozen cookies Nutrients per serving: (2 cookies): Calories 140, Total Fat 8 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 25 mg, Carbohydrate 15 g, Protein 2 g, Sodium 55 mg, Fiber 0 g Cook’s Tips: Do not use disk #10 for cookies. If using disk #4, see Step 5 in the How to Use section of this use and care. Variation: Chocolate Spritz Cookies: Increase sugar to 1 1/4 cups (300 mL). Decrease flour to 3 cups (750 mL). Combine flour and 1/3 cup (75 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder in medium mixing bowl; blend well. Proceed as recipe directs.