Pink Dalmatian Cookies

Can I just bitch about cookie recipes for a hot second? The Internet is chock full of cookie recipes described as “easy” or “quick,” and technically they are. But, they require like 27 ingredients, none of which you have on hand as a college student, five of which you can’t find anywhere near Penn and one of which you have to import by basically selling your third child to a mystical shaman who lives on a remote island in Indonesia. Then you buy, for example, an entire box of baking soda so that you can use 1/8 of a teaspoon for that one recipe. So, instead of dropping a small fortune on a bunch of ingredients you’ll never use again, here’s a fun and inexpensive way to (d)augment a prepared cookie mix. This recipe is inspired by the amazing cookies from Carma’s Café, an adorable bistro I lived near in Baltimore, Maryland. While Carma is still the HBIC of cookies, Food Boy is assuming the role of LBIB (lazy bitch in bed) with this shortcut recipe for seductive cookies that’ll leave you saying, “WOOF!”

Ingredients (makes ~24 cookies; $6.98/batch):

1 box of oatmeal cookie mix ($2.99/ box at Fresh Grocer)

3/4 cup dried cranberries ($2.57/bag at CVS)

3/4 cup white chocolate chips ($3.29/bag at Fresh Grocer)

Any ingredients the cookie mix requires; mine used 1 stick of butter ($4.99/4-stick box at Fresh Grocer) and 1 egg ($2.69/dozen at Fresh Grocer)

Procedure:

  1. In a bowl, mix the cookie mix, egg and butter until the dough forms.
  2. Fold in the cranberries and white chocolate chips.
  3. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet 1-2 inches apart and bake according to mix directions (usually 350° for 8-10 minutes). Always check a minute or two early because slightly undercooked cookies = soft cookies = the best cookies. Bet you won’t learn that helpful formula in MATH 104!

Tips and Tricks:

Room temperature butter is the bane of my existence. I never remember to leave it out, and it takes away from the spontaneity of cooking. If your butter is cold and rock hard, microwave it for 10 seconds, and then let it sit for 20 seconds. Repeat this pattern until it softens up. Also, if you're not a fan of oatmeal cookies, you can use a sugar cookie mix. Regardless, line your cookie sheet with aluminum foil so that cleanup can be a breeze! Finally, don't tell anyone you used a prepared cookie mix, and no one will know the difference. Bask in the heaps of praise you will inevitably get knowing that you duped all your friends into thinking you made these cookies from scratch! 

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