- Culinary pros shared their tips for making cookies from premade mixes and doughs taste homemade.
- They recommended adding salty mix-ins like pretzels, chips, or nuts to the dough.
- Rolling the dough in spices or a fun garnish can elevate your cookies.
Not everyone has the time or skill to bake fresh, homemade cookies. Fortunately, using premade dough or mixes doesn't mean you have to sacrifice quality or flavor.
To help you step up your baking game, Business Insider asked three chefs to share their tips for making store-bought cookie dough and mixes taste homemade.
Add spice to your dough.
Cinnamon or nutmeg can punch up the flavors of your cookies.
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You can upgrade your cookie dough by adding spices to it, said Tracy Wilk, lead chef at the Institute of Culinary Education. .
To do so, combine ground cinnamon, ginger, and sugar, and then roll your balls of cookie dough in the mix before baking. This can result in a warm, spicy cookie.
If you're feeling bold, you can even spice up your cookies with a sprinkling of cayenne pepper, said Jackie Newgent, chef and author of "The Clean and Simple Diabetes Cookbook."
Punch up the flavor of your cookies with extracts.
An extract can add flavor to your dough.
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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.
Before baking, roll the dough in a garnish of your choice.
Try rolling your dough in sprinkles for a fun-looking cookie.
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Another way to add flavor or texture to your cookies is by rolling the balls of dough in your garnish of choice, Jennifer Hill Booker, chef, cookbook author, and culinary educator, told Business Insider.
To start, you can try using chopped nuts, sanding sugar, miniature chocolate chips, cocoa powder, or sprinkles.
Stir nuts into the dough for an added crunch.
Nuts can give your cookies a salty twist.
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For added texture, crunch, and color, stir nuts into your cookie dough.
Newgent said pecans, walnuts, and macadamia nuts can work — but, if you want a real homemade feel, you may want to use nuts that aren't commonly found in store-bought cookies, like pistachios.
Add in your favorite savory snacks, like chips or pretzels.
Chips or pretzels can add a crunch and a salty flavor to your cookies.
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Mix-ins are another great way to add a unique flavor to a cookie and make it seem like you spent a lot of time making them.
"Plop in a surprise ingredient that you love, like crushed pretzels, potato chips, roasted chickpeas, or popped popcorn," Newgent told BI.
Top your cookies with flaked sea salt.
A sprinkle of salt can make a cookie look elegant.
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Try topping cookies with a pinch of flaky sea salt before you put them in the oven, Newgent said.
"Salt helps to balance sweetness, providing a more well-rounded taste and bonus deliciousness," she told BI.
Dip your cookies in chocolate or drizzle it on top.
A chocolate drizzle can add extra sweetness to your cookies.
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Use a bit of melted chocolate to give your cookies a high-end look and homemade flavor, Wilk said.
"Once the cookies are baked and cooled, dip them into chocolate or drizzle them with it," she said. "This will give a finished and fancy look without a lot of extra work."
Add citrus zest to your cookies to give them a fresh taste.
You can put lemon, lime, or orange zest on top of your cookies.
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Newgent told BI that if you really want to impress, you can use freshly grated citrus zest as a cookie topper.
She said orange pairs well with many chocolate cookies and lemon can elevate vanilla ones.
"It'll make the cookies seem extra special and kind of fancy," she said.
This story was originally published on May 15, 2020, and most recently updated on December 5, 2024.