Review of the Toastmaster Rechargeable Cookie Press

One of my daycare children gave me this cookie press as a gift last Christmas. I wasn’t sure that I would use it, since I don’t bake cookies very often, but this does have some other uses as well.

About the Cookie Press
* Dual corded or cordless use
* Includes 12 stainless steel cookie discs
* 2 cannoli forms
* 8 decorator tips
* 1 long injector tip for filling pastries, manicotti shells, etc.
* Comes in storage box with slide out drawer

My Experience
The size of the storage box is one downfall. It measures 12″ x 8 1/4″ x 3 1/3″ tall. It’s nice and tidy for keeping all the parts and pieces together, but I have limited space for items like this in my kitchen.

This press consists of a 9″ long, slim power base in attractive silver and black colors. The plastic dough tube is clear, so you can see when you are getting to the end of your fill. Prior to using the press, you must first charge it for a full 24 hours. After that, the normal recharge time is cut to 6 hours, which will give you enough power to prepare 10-15 tubes of batter. Recharging this is as easy as recharging my cell phone, I simply insert the battery adaptor to the handle and plug it into an AC outlet.

After the press has been fully charged, I remove the plug as the cord gets in my way. Using this is easier than I thought it would be. I pick the disc I want, fill the plastic tube, and attach the power shaft. I stand the cookie press vertical against my cookie sheet and press the on/off button. The handle is egonomically designed, and the button is at the perfect position for your thumb. The unit has great balance.

When the button is pressed, the press-disc pushes downward, forcing the dough through the tip to form attractive cookies. Releasing the button stops the motor. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but once you do you can make cookies very quickly. You only need to press a cookie for 2 seconds. Most of the disc designs are standard, but thre is a star, a wreath, and a Christmas tree that are nice additions for making Christmas cookies.

The tubing holds 1 cup of dough, and when it needs to be refilled you can easily do so by unscrewing the power shaft.

Pros
* Works great for filling manicotti shells or other types of pasta
* You can fill pastries
* Makes nice “cheesecake filled” cupcakes
* Does the job faster and is less messy
* Suitable for making meringue

Cons
* Not dishwasher safe – disc and tips will discolor
* The inside of the tube can be difficult to clean
* Store bought refrigerated cookie dough is too stiff to use
* Cannot use on greased or non-stick cookie sheets
* Tips and discs get gunked up and require cleaning before you can continue on

My Recommendation
I’m glad I didn’t pay the $45 for this, because I haven’t used it often enough to merit that kind of expense. I don’t make cookies very often, but I do cook a lot of Italian meals, like manicotti, and this does make the job of filling my shells much easier. However, I don’t care for the clean up and since the pieces all need to be hand washed, it untimately makes me more work in the long run. I am going to try and sell my cookie press on Craigs List because it is more of a dust catcher than anything else.