10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (2024)

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Madison Vanderberg

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (1)

  • It's possible to make premade cookie dough taste like it's homemade by using a few simple tricks.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (2)

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10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (4)

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The best thing about premade cookie dough is that if you're craving freshly baked cookies, you can have one in 15 minutes or less. The only drawback with some store-bought cookie dough is that it's missing a homemade taste.

Fortunately, you can make your premade cookie dough taste like it was made from scratch with these tips.

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Brown sugar is a common ingredient in homemade cookie recipes, so it makes sense that adding a bit of it to a premade mix will make your dessert taste more authentic.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (5)

According to Fine Cooking, brown sugar can make cookies chewier and moister, which can help give premade dough a homemade twist.

Start by adding a few teaspoons of it and thoroughly incorporating it into your dough. You can also melt a little bit of butter, add brown sugar to it, and incorporate that into your dough if you want an extra tender cookie.

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More vanilla extract can’t hurt.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (6)

Some premade cookie dough can have a processed, almost chemical-like aftertaste, but you can mask it by adding extra flavor extracts to your dough.

You can use a splash of vanilla extract or try other variations, like almond extract or mint extract, to change up the flavors of your cookies.

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Add in extra mix-ins or toppings.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (7)

Add extra mix-ins or toppings like white chocolate chips, candies, pretzels, or nuts to break up the flavor profile of the dough.

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Add instant espresso powder for a fun kick.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (8)

Epicurious suggests tossing a teaspoon of instant espresso powder into a pre-made batch of chocolate chip cookie dough to help mask the artificial aftertaste some premade doughs have.

You can even toss in a pinch of freshly ground coffee if you don't have espresso powder.

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Upgrade the dough, then refrigerate.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (9)

After enhancing your store-bought dough with add-ins or bonus ingredients, refrigerate it overnight to let those flavors really sink in.

"Chilling dough prior to baking lends itself to more tender, well-shaped, and slightly stronger flavored cookies," Meredith Tomason, test kitchen manager for Nestle Toll House told Real Simple. "The flavor-enhancing ingredients such as vanilla, salt, spices, and sweeteners all become a bit more concentrated and heightened."

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Add in more of everything (minus the sugar).

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (10)

A common complaint with store-bought dough is that it's too sweet, so some Food52.com commenters suggest adding in a little bit extra of all the ingredients, minus the sweetener. Add the pre-made dough to a mixer and add a few shakes of flour, salt, baking soda, butter, etc.

You can find the ingredients listed on the dough's packaging, or just reference any basic cookie recipe. You're just topping off the dough to decrease the overall sugar content, you aren't creating an entire second batch. This is a good option for when you have all the ingredients to make cookies, but not enough to make a full batch from scratch.

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Add Maldon salt.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (11)

There's already salt in the pre-made dough batter, but adding finishing salt or flaky Maldon salt to any baked good makes it taste that much better.

Epicurious says to sprinkle Maldonsalt on your cookies before they go into the oven.

Decrease the cooking time.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (12)

One Reddit tipster said to take the cookies out of the oven two minutes before the recommended cooking time on the package — this will give the cookies a softer, chewier finish.

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There's a lot of ingredients you can mix into box cookie mixes.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (13)

Box mix cookie dough is just a box of the dry ingredients. You typically only add eggs and butter to a box mix recipe, but A Good Tired blog says you shouldn’t stop there. Add in milk, vanilla, oatmeal, and a little bit of coconut oil to increase the flavor profile of the box mix dough.

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Add pudding to boxed mixes for a chewier cookie.

10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (14)

Delishably says to add pudding to your box-based cookie mix for chewier cookies.

For more great stories, head to INSIDER's homepage.

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10 hacks to trick people into thinking your store-bought cookie dough is homemade (2024)

FAQs

How to make store-bought cookie dough look homemade? ›

Visual Appeal: Chopped chocolate bars can add visual appeal to the cookies, with irregular chocolate pieces peeking through the cookie dough. This can make the cookies look more artisanal and homemade.

What can you add to store bought cookie dough to make it better? ›

No one will even suspect they're store-bought (and we won't tell anyone!).
  1. Add brown sugar. ...
  2. Experiment with extracts. ...
  3. Mix in different candies and snacks. ...
  4. Add espresso or coffee grounds. ...
  5. Deepen the flavors by refrigerating the dough. ...
  6. Salt before baking the cookies. ...
  7. Reduce baking time for extra soft cookies.

What are 4 tips to keep in mind while making cookies? ›

Tips for Baking Better Cookies
  1. Bake Better Cookies. ...
  2. Soften Your Butter. ...
  3. Creaming Butter. ...
  4. Measure Your Flour Correctly. ...
  5. Line Your Pans With Parchment Paper. ...
  6. Add Eggs One at a Time. ...
  7. Add Flour or Dry Ingredients in Batches. ...
  8. Fold in Chocolate Chips by Hand.

How to jazz up store bought cookies? ›

Insert food-safe wooden crafts sticks into sandwich creme cookies. Dip cookies into melted bittersweet chocolate chips. Add chocolate-covered pretzels for ears, candy eyeballs and a cinnamon imperial for the nose.

What does adding vinegar to cookie dough do? ›

King Arthur Flour says the purpose of the vinegar is to temper the sweetness of the sugar and it also reacts with the baking soda to allow the cookies to rise a bit more in the oven. Who knew, eh? So try it–you'll be surprised how it perfectly balances the taste.

How to doctor up Pillsbury cookie dough? ›

To add depth to your cookies, add a few drops of a pure flavor extract to your dough, Newgent said. This is a simple way to personalize the cookies to your liking or give them a unique twist each time you bake them. Some extracts to try include peppermint, lemon, vanilla, coffee, almond, or coconut.

What can I add to moisten cookie dough? ›

To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

How do you make store bought cookie dough thicker? ›

The simplest and most advisable way to thicken cookie dough is to add a couple tablespoons of cake flour to a runny cookie dough. Mix it gently to prevent overmixing, which will result in a tough cookie dough. For roll-out cookie dough, knead the extra flour in by hand.

What makes cookies too fluffy? ›

A spread with less fat, diet "margarines" or spreads in tubs contain have too much water. The water creates steam, causing the cookies to puff. Low protein flours, such as cake flour, absorb less water, leaving excess water to create steam, which causes the cookies to puff.

What is unsafe in cookie dough? ›

The bottom line. Raw cookie dough is not safe to eat because it contains uncooked eggs and flour, which can cause food poisoning if they are contaminated with harmful bacteria. Pregnant women, children, older adults, and people with compromised immune systems should not eat raw cookie dough because of these risks.

What makes a bad cookie? ›

Adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy, and crispy. Most recipes assume you'll use all-purpose, but if you want a lighter, crumblier cookie texture, choose one with a lower protein content such as cake-and-pastry flour. Baking soda helps cookies spread outward and upward while cooking.

What are the 7 cookie methods? ›

This refers to the way in which the cookie is prepared after the dough has been made. For example, there are drop, icebox, bar, sheet, cut out, pressed, rolled, molded or wafer. Let's take a minute to look at these methods.

What is the secret to cookies? ›

The key is to always use top-quality ingredients as they'll result in a better cookie; it really is that simple.
  • Always use butter.
  • Choose the right sugar.
  • Choose the right flour.
  • Check your flour is in date.
  • Choose the right kind of chocolate.
  • Cream the butter and sugar.
  • Beat in the eggs.
  • Fold in the flour.

How do you make store bought cookie dough keep their shape? ›

Sandwich your dough between two sheets of parchment, roll, then freeze; it makes cut-out cookies a breeze!

How to dress up store bought sugar cookie dough? ›

Take plain sugar cookies up a notch with exciting mix-ins like chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, toasted chopped nuts, chopped dried fruit or M&M's. Add these after blending your butter and egg into the sugar cookie mix. This is our favorite hack for holiday Pillsbury cookie dough.

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