What kind of "cherry flavored pieces" would be in the cake mix?
Cherry flavor without cherries? The list of ingredients didn't assure me
of treasure. Wanting to increase cherry visibility, I added drained,
pitless, stemless maraschino cherries that I chop-pulsed in my blender.
The cake mix cooky dough was unexpectedly sticky and difficult to
handle. And the baked ones from the first batch didn't lift off the pan
as easily as most other cake mix cookies in the past. Furthermore, they
came out soft, rather than crunchy like the Mon Cheri cookies. But what
yummy taste and sweetness!
Seeing the "cherry flavor pieces" that are in Betty Crocker Super
Moist Cherry Chip Cake Mix, which I used for making the cake mix cookies
Using a blender to chop maraschino cherries, then draining and weighing them before they go in the cooky dough.
Using four ways to dispense the cooky dough. Two of the ways include
using a cooky press to push out such add-in-ingredients dough. (View
guidance on DIY nozzle and disk modification.)
My video
walks the viewer through the cooky recipe, from ingredients, equipment,
mixing, dispensing, and baking. The dispensing is notable for showing
four ways, two using a cooky press, one using a cooky scoop, and one
using a spatula and measuring spoon.
Cherry Flavored Pieces
An text item on the cake mix caught my eye "with cherry flavored
pieces". Thus, I wondered what they could be. I sifted the cake mix. The
remains (a smidge more than 1/3 ounce) resembled pink nonpareils and
maybe soy bits. The list of ingredients didn't mention soy. Thus, I
Wondered if BC was fudging terminology, such as "corn cereal". Something
seemed clearly non water-soluble.
Very Sticky Dough
Weirdly, the dough behaved differently than numerous past cake mix
cooky doughs. It came out very sticky and difficult to handle. I needed
help using fingers, butter knife edge, and spoon to drop dollops. I
noticed the dough weirdness even before adding the cherries and almonds.
Baked Cookies Hugging Pan
Another oddity about the dough was its tendency to stick to the pan
for the first batch. Past cake mix cooky dough, besides dispensing
easily, seemed to have enough fat for the baked cookies to easily lift
off the pan. For the second batch, I spray-oiled the pan before
dolloping. Easier cookies liftoff!
Cooky Results and Looking to Make 2.0 Version
The home cookies were softer, chewier, sweeter, and stickier to the touch. Yield was 44. (Mon Cheri cookies come 18 to the box.)
Future attempts will include adding one two two tablespoons of flour
after mixing in the cake mix powder. I might or might not adjust the
fat. Maybe add more fat to see if the
dough is easier to dispense, and the cookies easier to lift off the pan.
Plan B is to spray oil the pan anyway. Plan C is to try making cherry
almond cookies using a different cake mix.
To address the sticky-to-touch baked cookies, lowering the
temperature to 325 and adding more baking time should tend to make them
dryer and crunchier. Hoping for perfection the next time.
Calories and Sodium
The calories and sodium amounts are similar to those numerous cake
mix cookies I've made. Because of the difficulty in dispensing,
individual cooky sizes and stats might vary.
Closer Looks
Visit "Pt 2 Cherry Almond Cake Mix Cooky, Closer Looks" (article, video) for following details:
Seeing the "cherry flavor pieces" that are in Betty Crocker Super
Moist Cherry Chip Cake Mix, which I used for making the cake mix cookies
Using a blender to chop maraschino cherries, then draining and weighing them before they go in the cooky dough
Using four ways to dispense the cooky dough. Two of the ways include
using a cooky press to push out such add-in-ingredients dough.
My profession had been technical writer/editor. Through TheWriteJob clublet (blog at http://thewritejob.blogspot.com), I have been exploring my inner creative writing, which includes mostly language enlightenment, entertainment, and a-muse-meant. Over time, I have become more active with images and my YouTube channel.
