Homemade cookies just about always beat store bought, prepackaged cookie doughs. They’re more fun to make – especially if you’re looking for an activity to do with your kids – they’re tastier and they don’t have any strange ingredients, like preservatives, in them. The only advantage of the prepacked doughs is that they’re quicker and more convenient if you absolutely don’t have time to make dough from scratch. Pillsbury recently introduced a new line of prepackaged cookie dough called simply Cookies that give packaged cookies a push closer to homemade. The real selling point is that they are not made with any artificial ingredients. In fact, the ingredient list of the cookies reads just like a recipe ingredient list would (flour, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, etc.). I had a chance to taste the Peanut Butter Cookies when I visited General Mills a few weeks ago and was quite impressed with them. They were nice and chewy, and they had a great peanut butter flavor. They are made with shortening (non-hydrogenated), so they don’t have a real buttery flavor to them, but that’s not a drawback in a peanut butter cookie where you want the peanuts to be the star.
Now, I’m still going to make my cookies from scratch, but I do think it’s nice to know that there is good store-bought option out there if I need some cookies in a pinch or if a friend who is short on time (or ingredients) needs a recommendation.
Halloween is coming up in a couple of weeks and that means that stores are starting to stock up on Halloween items, from candy to costumes. Wilton has a new Halloween Cookie Pan out this year. This pan is designed with separate cavities for cookie dough balls and bakes your cookies into one of 12 different Halloween shapes. It’s really nice that each of the shapes is unique, as it makes the batch of cookies that much more interesting – kind of like looking through a bag of Halloween candy where every piece is different, but they’re all your favorite flavor. The shapes include a mummy, spiderweb, bat, ghost, tombstone and candy corn, to name just a few.
The pan is nonstick and because the designs aren’t too complex, there are few corners to trap dough in; the cookies should all release easily from this pan. Once they’re out, you can serve them as-is or decorate them with icing. You can use homemade cookie dough and can also use prepackaged cookie dough (if you’re really looking for convenience). The finished cookies are about 1/4 inch thick and the baking time and temperature should be about the same as it is for whatever recipe you’re working with.
Semifreddo is a frozen dessert that is somewhere between a mousse and an ice cream, made with a flavored base of whipped cream and egg white meringue. It is lighter in texture than ice cream and requires no churning, just some time in the freezer to set up. I like it because it is easy to make, it looks very elegant and it melts quickly into the lightest, creamiest dessert you can imagine once it hits your tongue. The name means “half-cold,” and while this is usually said to describe the fact that there are lots of mix-ins in semifreddi, like nuts, fruits, chocolates and cookies. I used cookies in this recipe, adding the chocolate and crunch of Tim Tams into the ultra-light vanilla base of the semifreddo.
Tim Tams are a hugely popular Australian cookie that consists of a layer of chocolate mousse sandwiched between two layers of crispy chocolate biscuits, all of which is dunked in chocolate. Pepperidge Farms released them in the US earlier this year, and I’m not sure if they’re still available, but I regularly find them at stores that specialize in imports, like Cost Plus World Market. Typically, I eat these one at a time with a cup of coffee and do the Tim Tam slam. It was a little bit of a sacrifice to put almost a whole package into this dessert, but the result was well worth it. The crunchy, chocolaty cookies held up amazingly well in the creamy semifreddo and the chocolate mousse stayed just soft enough to melt in my mouth along with the dessert base.
If you can’t find Tim Tams, you can use other types of cookies. Oreos, Thin Mints or other similar crunchy chocolate cookies are great choices. Oreos have the bonus of a cream filled center that adds even more texture and flavor to the dessert. Feel free to experiment, but if you’re not using Tim Tams this time around, keep your eyes out for a package because they’re just right. This recipe calls for uncooked eggs, so if you’re uncomfortable using them, look for pasturized eggs. I used Safe Choice eggs, which are pasturized in the shell, in this recipe, but I’ve made it using completely uncooked eggs in the past.
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There is, almost literally, a cookie out there for everyone. From casually thrown together drop cookies to carefully rolled out, cut out and frosted cookies, you can find a cookie recipe to suit every level of baking skill, every available time frame and every taste. This is why cookies are so popular, and it is also why there are so many cookie cookbooks out there. We just can’t get enough (I know I can’t!). Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets is a cookie cookbook from James Beard award winner Carole Walter. It breaks cookies down into 11 different categories and offers up over 200 cookie recipes to fit all cookie preferences.
The book covers many basic cookie recipes, such as Oatmeal Raisin and Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, but definitely takes care to include many more unusual recipes. There is a chapter dedicated to international cookies, as well as a good sprinkling of nonstandard recipes throughout. Each of the recipes starts off with a description of the cookies before getting into the details of how to make them. Every recipe also includes a list of “cookie characteristics,” which can be extremely useful when picking out cookies to ship, store or even just to give away. Characteristics include traits like versatile, fragile, long/short shelf life, festive, travel well, etc. to name just a few.
After the recipes, there is a section that goes into detail about ingredients, equipment and techniques entitled “ecrets for sensational cookies.” This is a great resource for those just getting into baking, but it might be an even better one for more experienced bakers. It goes into great detail about choosing, storing and using various ingredients and even includes a section that compares the properties of several different brands of chocolate chips and chocolate bars! The photos throughout the book are lovely, too. Overall, the book is a great handbook for cookie bakers and one that, if you don’t turn to it as a reference, will give you some great information as you read through it and try some of the recipes.
