Emergency Chocolate Chip Cookies Secret Revealed

Plus: A recipe for **pistachio garam masala chocolate chip cookies**

…when you absolutely, positively need to have cookies right away.

Secret revealed! I, Ms-Anyone-Can-and-Should-Cook-From-Scratch, sometimes bakes from a mix.

I don’t use brownie mixes, and rarely cake mixes (and mostly for this chocolatey family favorite), but cookie mixes, I discovered by accident, can be good. Really good.

We were on vacation a few years ago, staying in an Air B and B-style place. In the small grocery near our apartment, my kids presented me with a bag of Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix they’d found while roaming the store like the feral animals they are. Could we please make these? In the interest of science, and the fact the mix only required the addition of 1 stick of butter and an egg, I said yes.

Dang it, that mix surprised me with its caramel-scented, cakey cookies

My kids loved it (as you do, I suppose, when your mom cooks all day long from scratch. Irony, luckily, is something I was born with.) The ingredient list on the packages mostly meets with my seal of approval—although as with Nutella, it does contain palm oil.

Everyone from preppers to those of us Who Need Cookies Right Now should keep a bag or twenty in the pantry (depends on how long you’re planning on being in the bunker). It takes about 5 minutes max to whip these together and if you follow my instructions and bake these all at once in a large pie pan, you will have a giant cookie pie within 25 minutes.

But, as I can’t leave well enough alone, I decided to fancy these up and gave them a northern Indian twist with the addition of roasted pistachios and garam masala (not chai masala, but that would be very nice too). Oh, and I always add more vanilla and chocolate chips because…I hope I don’t have to explain why.

A note on garam masala: For savory dishes I would recommend making your own garam blend; for this recipe the jarred stuff works better because, by its nature, it’s milder.

All that said, don’t ever think you need a mix to make chocolate chip cookies quickly. Many of the recipes I develop come together far more quickly than you think. Especially the chocolate chip cookie recipes that use melted butter and are stirred by hand. Like this these Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies that I made on The Secret Life of Cookies podcast with the wonderful Anushay Hossain.

Pistachio Garam Masala Chocolate Chip Cookie

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Pistachio Garam Masala Chocolate Chip Cookie

Yields: 1 9-inch

What You’ll Need:

• 1 bag Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix

• 1 large egg

• 4 ounces (113 grams) butter, softened

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon garam masala

• 3/4 cup (75 grams) roasted, chopped unsalted pistachio nuts (method for roasting below)

• 1/2 cup (56 grams) chocolate chips

What You’ll Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (the bag says 375 F, but we’re baking ours into one giant cookie-pie, so the slower oven is necessary.).

2. Open the bag of cookie mix. Pour it into a large bowl. (Are you with me so far?)

3. Add the butter, egg, garam masala and vanilla extract and using a stand/hand mixer or a wooden spoon, mix until well blended.

4. Add the pistachios and chocolate chips. Mix until blended.

5. Smoosh all of the dough into a 9-inch pie pan (glass if you have it) and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Let cool until you can’t stand it any longer, and slice into pieces. Yes, ice cream is a good accompaniment. And this would make a nice, easy dessert for a dinner party.

Method for roasting pistachios:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Pour the shelled nuts onto a baking sheet and toast for about 5 minutes, or until the nuts start to turn light brown. I recommend you hover nervously around your oven with a mitt ready to take them out before you burn them all. This is just experience talking.

3. Let cool. Chop.

If you decide to keep it simple and just bake the bag as written, I’d still add extra vanilla and chocolate chips.

Speaking of Betty Crocker, keep a look out for an upcoming post on the very odd history of America’s Homemaker.

Do you have a favorite recipe that uses a boxed mix? How are you spending your weekend? Does it involve anything indulgent or fun?

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