Here’s How to Improve Betty Crocker Chocolate Cookie Mix!
When you’re out of time to make delicious biscuits from scratch, using pre-made cookie mix is always a good option. As such, Betty Crocker’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix has been a dessert staple in many households for years. But, did you know that the tiniest change can make store-bought cookie mix even better?
To improve Betty Crocker Chocolate Cookie Mix, or any other boxed cookie mix, try using butter instead of margarine; chill the cookie dough before baking; use brown sugar and vanilla extract; add shredded coconut or dry fruit, and adjust baking time according to your taste.
In this article, I’ll give you some ideas on how to make your cookies more interesting and appealing. Also, if you want to know what would happen if you add a few more eggs to the batch, don’t worry; I’ll answer all of your questions.
How Do You Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix Better?
Unlike handcrafted cookies, boxed cookie mixes frequently lack a personal touch. Fortunately, there are a slew of methods for turning store-bought cookie mixes into show-stopping cookies that could be easily mistaken for homemade biscuits, if your guests didn’t know any different.
All of the dry components, such as flour, salt, and baking soda, have already been combined, leaving only the remaining wet ingredients — usually butter and/or oil, water or milk, and occasionally eggs — to be added.
However, there is always room for improvement. Having this in mind, here are some of the ways you can make your packaged cookie mix even better:
Use Butter Instead of Margarine For a More Authentic Taste
Many commercial cookie doughs ask for margarine or oil, but homemade cookies, especially shortbreads, are famed for their real buttery flavor that melts in your mouth.
Not only will your cookies have that trademark homemade taste if you use butter instead of regular margarine, but they’ll also be crispier and thinner than the boxed dough claims.
However, as a general rule, you should always use unsalted butter because the boxed dough will most likely already contain salt.
Make Sure the Butter Is at Room Temperature
When baking cookies, one of the biggest mistakes you could make would be to use cold, firm butter. On the other hand, room temperature butter includes air pockets that allow it to be whipped, making it easier to be mixed with the flour and sugar in the dough. As a result, utilizing room-temperature butter is critical for your baking success.
You can soften cold butter in the microwave, but be careful not to melt it completely, as this can change the consistency of the cookies dramatically. Too heated butter won’t aerate correctly and will adhere to the rest of the dry ingredients, resulting in a denser, tougher biscuit.
Chill the Cookie Dough Before You Start Baking
If you have some additional time on your hands, chilling your boxed cookie dough before dropping the cookies on the baking sheet is one of the greatest methods to make it taste more genuine. Refrigerating the cookie dough for 30 minutes can make all the difference in the world when it comes to preventing your cookies from spreading out too much in the oven.
But it’s not only that because the dry components in the mix have more time to absorb the other ingredients, such as butter, vanilla, and brown sugar, cookie dough that has been left in the fridge to cool has a richer aroma.
Add Brown Sugar and Pure Vanilla Extract
Although sugar is already added into boxed cookie dough, a sprinkling of brown sugar may completely modify the ultimate product, making your cookies soft and chewy. Putting a sip of pure vanilla extract in the mix will also do wonders when it comes to making desserts that smell like home.
Adjust Baking Time for Your Cookies
Baking times change depending on the type of cookie. The majority of cookies have a baking temperature of 350 degrees. However, you can modify the baking time depending on how crispy or chewy you want your cookies to be.
The softness or hardness of your cookies will also be affected by the type of baking pan you use. Because dark baking pans absorb heat more quickly than lighter ones, your cookies will cook faster.
If you want your cookies to be a little crispier, bake them for a few minutes longer than the original recipe specifies – just make sure you don’t take them out too soon or they’ll deflate!
Add Dry Fruits or More Chocolate to Your Cookie Mix
You might be tempted to deviate from the instructions on the back of the box if you’re the type of baker who enjoys improvising, and adding additional ingredients to the dough will not only improve the visual appearance of your cookies but will also affect their overall flavor profile.
Adding a hint of zesty citruses, such as orange or lemon peel, will infuse your cookies with a brilliant blast of flavor that goes especially well with dark chocolate chips.
To make an extra delicious, chewy chocolate chip cookie, you could also add a small handful of your favorite dried fruit—from sour cherries, raisins, to unsulfured apricots. Candied ginger can contribute to creating a flavor explosion as well!
If you wish to make your cookie/brownie mixture sweeter, you could also consider adding different types of chocolate, chunks of chocolate chips, or your favorite candy bar in the dough. For that extra crunch, I especially recommend adding peanut butter cups, or all-natural granola to the mix.
Slivered almonds and toasted pecans nuts, creamy almond or cashew butter are ideal if you desire to bring out a deeper flavor and honey scent, which is so specific for a fresh batch of delicious cookies. For a little tropical flair, you could sprinkle a pinch of shredded toasted coconut, or perhaps add crunchy pieces of dried banana.
However, if you want to add any extra ingredients, keep in mind that nuts and chocolate will increase the amount of oil in the dough. Moreover, to achieve consistent baking times, avoid air pockets or undercooked cookies, you should make sure that all the additional elements, and wet and dry ingredients as well, are thoroughly combined into the dough.
What Will Adding an Extra Egg Do to Cookies?
At least one egg is required in most cookie recipes. In a cookie recipe, eggs serve as a binder, putting all of the other ingredients together and maintaining the cookie’s shape. It also adds moisture to the cookie, so without eggs, the cookies would be quite dense.
Yolks, which contain all of an egg’s fat, add richness, softness, and flavor to the mix. The oil in egg yolks helps to tenderize the dough by shortening the gluten strands, giving your cookies a deeper flavor, and making them chewier. As a result, adding an extra egg will result in a crispier cookie, while the cookie will be more crumbly if you use fewer eggs.
Improved Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- 1 baking tin
Ingredients
- 1 Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut
- 1 tbsp cutted dark chocolate
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 356°F.
- Prepare the ingredients.
- Beat the egg, milk, butter, vanilla extract and cake mix until fully mixed.
- Stir until well blended.
- Spoon the cookies onto an ungreased baking tin leaving generous gaps between them.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden (or leave in a little longer for extra crunch).
- Cool completely before serving.
Nutrition
Before diving into the nutritional details, please review our Nutritional Disclaimer page for important context and clarifications.
