Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC/Gas Mark 4. Have ready 2 ungreased cookie sheets.

In small bowl, mix together the flour and the salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium for 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on medium for 1 minute more. Add the whole egg and the egg yolk, and beat for 1 minute. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add flour mixture and beat on low until combined.

Here comes the fun part. Prepare your cookie press by placing the plunger on the tube part and turn to lock. Lift the plunger part until it’s all the way at the top. Then fill the tube with the dough from the bottom opening. Fit the disk of your choice into the bottom ring and screw on tightly. Now press the gun part (it will click each time you press the handle) until you see dough just pressing against the disk at the bottom.

Now you’re ready to press out dough. Place the end of the press firmly and evenly against the ungreased cookie sheet and press once on the gun. Lift the press. If the dough was adequately pressed against the disk, you should have a nice cookie shape on the sheet. If the dough came out but did not stick, pick up the dough and put it back into the bowl (I told you this would be easy). Press out enough cookies to cover a cookie sheet, spacing them about 1 ½ in/4 cm apart. Lightly sprinkle with colored sugar (if using). I usually sprinkle some with colored sugar and leave some plain.

Bake until the cookies are light brown on the bottoms, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining dough, allowing the cookie sheets to cool completely. If the dough starts to seem too squishy to make defined shapes, refrigerate it for a few minutes.

Once the cookies are completely cool you can play with them. I like to take about half of the cookies and make them into cookie sandwiches filled with jam—just spread the bottom of one cookie with some jam and press the bottom of another cookie of the same shape onto the jam.

In addition, you can sandwich melted chocolate between the cookies. Melt the chocolate chips in a small saucepan over extremely low heat until just barely melted. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. With a butter knife, spread a bit of melted chocolate on the bottoms of some of the cookies and press the cookies, chocolate-side down, on the waxed paper. For sandwich cookies, spread melted chocolate on the bottom of a cookie and press the bottom of another cookie of the same shape onto the chocolate. Or drizzle melted chocolate on top of the shapes. Be creative! Let the cookies sit for about 1 hour to let the chocolate set.

Store cookies in an airtight container with waxed paper between the layers, at room temperature for up to 7 days.