Even I, who loves to bake, wants to make something lazy sometimes. I thought it would be fun to do something different and do a product review of a couple lazy day products I've used recently- Krusteaz cookie mix, and Papa Murphy's cookie dough.
The other day I was at the grocery store and the 'New Item' tag caught my eye. It was for this Krusteaz brand Bakery Style Chocolate Chunk Cookie mix. I was intrigued by the words 'Bakery Style' and the picture definately looks good, so I grabbed it. It's easy enough, just add softened butter and one egg, mix it up and bake. While they were baking, of course I had to sample the dough. That alone got me kinda excited. The dough was very yummy and that's usually a good sign. Once baked, they had a good strong vanilla flavor, but the texture was more cakey than I usually like. All in all, pretty good for a mix, and I'll probably try it again.
Every Friday night at our house is Family Pizza and a Movie Night. I stopped by Papa Murphy's to grab a pizza (not Jared's favorite, but it's cheaper, so there ya go) and while I was in there I picked up a tub of their premade chocolate chip cookie dough. I overheard the cashier saying they actually make it in the store themselves, so that was a good sign. The dough wasn't quite as tasty to eat raw (okay, I know you're not supposed to do that, but let's just be honest, it's one of the best things about making cookies, and we all do it). But once baked I really loved the crispy texture even though they didn't actually get hard. And really, can you beat just scooping it straight onto the pan? It doesn't get any easier.
So final verdict? Papa Murphy's had the best cookies, but Krusteaz made better dough, and was a better deal for that matter.
It's funny though, because I've been thinking about writing this blog for a few days now, then yesterday I found a recipe for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies and decided to try it out. It took me all of 5-6 minutes to get the dough together and in the oven, which made me think- do I really need those lazy day products? Is 5-6 minutes really that hard even when I'm tired or whatever? And one of the things I love the most about baking is the actual process, learning new skills, or perfecting techniques. So does this mean I'll never buy another tub of Papa Murphy's cookie dough? I'm sure I will, because I know that I have those moments when scooping something onto the pan is the most effort I want to put into it. And it's a pretty decent outcome for such little effort.
Coming Soon....Fall Recipes!! Yummm, my favorite baking time of year!
