Look at these cookies! I have decided to call them "Unicorn Hooves", because, well, look at the shape. And the taste is magical, so it's warranted.
How on earth does one end up with cookies shaped like unicorn hooves? Well, that's a funny story.
I know that you're just pretending to work, anyway, so why don't you listen to my story?
To tell the story of these cookies, it's first important to know that I was assigned to write a scintillating article entitled "How to Grease a Bundt Pan" for Craftsy. It will be on their blog soon. You've got to stay tuned.
Actually, I'm not joking about it being scintillating -- I learned a thing or two in writing the article. In order to write the best article I could, I of course took the time to grease a decorative cake pan to perfection, only to realize that I didn't have the time nor the energy (it was a big day) to make a cake. But I wasn't just going to let a perfectly greased cake pan go to waste!
That's when I remembered the pre-portioned cookie dough nuggets in my fridge.
What, doesn't everyone keep ready-to-bake chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer? My reasoning is this: you never know when you might need cookies.
So...I found myself wondering: "What would happen if I just dumped these cookie dough pellets in the prepped pan and baked 'em up?"
So, I gave it a try. I put them all in the pan, about 24 portions (a typical batch of chocolate chip cookies). Usually I would bake the cookies at 375 for 8-12 minutes, but since the volume was going to be greater, I turned down the heat to 350.
At about 10 minutes, the cookie dough unit was puffy and beautiful looking.
At about 15 minutes, when I took it out of the oven, it had deflated in the center, but it smelled awesome.
The best news? My greasing technique worked perfectly: the cookie dough, which would normally be a terror to remove from such a pan, came out smoothly and seamlessly.
Equally great news? The bundt-cookie thing came out very nicely, in spite of the slight deflation. I sliced it into slivers, realized that they looked like unicorn hooves, and laughed at my own cleverness. Then I ate a cookie.
I actually like how baking the dough in a decorative pan changed its texture. It was a lot chewier in the center, which is a very good thing for me; I despise crispy-all-over cookies.
So, let me review the main points I want you to take away from this post:
I am very, very clever.
Properly greasing a bundt pan is of great importance if you don't want half of what you bake to cling to the pan.
If properly greased, you CAN bake cookie dough--even pellets of store bought cookie dough--in a bundt pan.
Cookie dough may deflate while being baked in a bundt pan, but when sliced, you can call the cookies unicorn hooves, and all will be forgiven.
