Ingredients, equipment, and mixing, dispensing, and baking info for this cheery cherry almond cooky are in the the video. This recipe go-around is my second attempt at making a version of HEB's Mon Cheri Cookie. The cookies I made in August came out pretty well, but dough dispensing had been challenging. August's Closer Looks video shows the dough stickiness hampering my dispensing.
This batch of dough was less-sticky and dispensed neater and faster. Two variables could have made the difference(s) in dolloping ease.
- Trying a cake mix brand/flavor other than Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ Delights Cherry Chip Cake Mix (15.25 oz). I used my supermarket-brand yellow cake mix (16 .5 oz).
- Using more effort in removing maraschino cherry fluid—yield of 4.59 ounces cherries then and 2.65 ounces this time.
To compensate for less cherry flavor, I added one envelope of Cherry Kool-Aid.
Dough Dispensing Emphasis
The four dough dispensing methods I used this time are as follows:
- Cooky press with DIY funnel (cut-off top of shampoo bottle) and spoon
- Cooky scoop (1 1/3 T)
- Spoon and rubber spatula
- Tablespoon measuring spoon and rubber spatula
The cooky press method saves on travel effort between bowl and pan. Downside is that the tube doesn't hold enough dough to dispense all in one session. The other three methods are one-dollop-at-a-time, rather tedious for the repetitive bowl/pan back and forth.
Calories and Sodium
The yield was 50 cookies, varying somewhat for size. I did have some awkwardness in using the four dispensing methods.
Post-recipe Thoughts
The cookies came out tasty with cherryish flavor. They were soft, almost cake-like.
Softer vs. Crisper Cookies
For next time, I'll aim more for crunchier—baking at lower temperature (325) and longer, as recommended in "What Makes Cookies Chewy or Crispy? — from Cooking for Geeks" and "How to Harden Soft Cookies".
Color
The Cherry Kool-Aid might have made the color a bit deeper than I'd intended. And I missed seeing cherry bits that were more evident in the August cookies. Possibly I overpulsed the cherries in the blender. Next time, I might try dehydrated ones and halve the amount of Kool-Aid.
Cherryness
Maybe the main reason for improved dispensing could be less moisture—getting rid of more cherry fluid than August's batch. This time, after pulsing the cherries, I drained AND blotted the remains. The yield was 2.65 ounces instead of 4.59 ounces. Pretty expensive item, considering they were 10-ounce jars of cherries! Thinking of trying chopped dehydrated cherries, but chopping and adding only half the pack.
Pt 1 Cherry Almond Cake Mix Cooky, Inspired by HEB's Mon Cheri Cookie
Pt 2 Cherry Almond Cake Mix Cooky, Closer Looks
Cherry Almond Cake Mix Cooky 2, Improved Dough Dispensing
View more cooky recipes.
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