Baking cookies in a car August 28
When it is hot outside - a very common occurance here in So. Cal in the summer - my car starts to feel like an oven if it is parked out in the sun. It never really occurred to me to try and capitalize on this heat, since my kitchen’s oven works so well and so reliably, but after hearing about a woman who regularly bakes big batches of chocolate chip cookies on the dash of her RAV4, I will admit that my curiosity was peaked.
Lately, I’ve been seeing even more news stories about bored reporters/locals/etc. who have been trying to replicate the experiment themselves with varying degress of success. Everyone starts with premade cookie dough (the kind sold in tubes) and uses some kind of baking sheet. The more successful bakers have oven thermometers in their cars, or at least keep an eye on the cookies without opening the door to let heat out. And even unsuccessful batches will leave a delicious smell in the car.
I’m still hoping to try and replicate the experiment myself, but I’m going to have to wait for it to get a little bit hotter outside. In the meantime, I’m formulating some dough theories that will (hopefully) help my car cookies turn out well when I do have a chance to bake them. If you want to try your hand at it before then, here are a few tips that I’ve compiled from the various articles I’ve read on the subject:
Rules for baking cookies in a car:
- Park the car so that the dashboard gets full sun for an extended period.
- Place something under the cookie sheet to prevent damage to your dash board.
- Put an oven thermometer in the window so that you can monitor the temperature.
- Check on the cookies periodically (they will definitely take longer than normal cookies) to prevent overcooking.
- It must be at least 95F outside, preferably warmer.
- Don’t plan on driving the car for a while.
Update: I tried this technique myself. Find out how it works step-by-step and what recipe I used!
Sabra Aug 28
At last, a way to get some use out of my car while we’re saving up the money to get the transmission fixed!
peabody Aug 28
When I lived in Phoenix we used to cook stuff on the dash too. Something to do when it is 115F outside.
Christy Aug 29
I have never in my life heard of such a thing! How interesting. I don’t think it would ever get hot enough her for me to try it though.
Suzanne Aug 29
It doesn’t need to be a hot summer day to use the car for cooking. My husband grew up eating hotdogs that had been wrapped in foil and tucked onto the car engine as the family drove across Minnesota to go skiing. By the time they reached Trollhaugen, the dogs were steaming and dinner was served. In fact a whole cookbook has been written on cooking with your car engine: Manifold Destiny,by Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller.