Friday, December 16, 2011

Homemade Dunkaroos

Remember Dunkaroos? Those little packs of kangaroo-shaped cookies, complete with a cup of icing for dipping? A perfect idea for lunchboxes, but they were so artificial. Needless to say, those little devils were full of p.h.o. and all sorts of preservatives. Who wants that in their lunch?
So without further ado, I present a recipe so simple, it's almost cheating.
Homemade Dunkaroos
1 c butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
Meez



To make your Dunkaroos, you'll need a cookie press. This one used to be my Grandmother's--thank you Gmom! The beauty of using a press is two fold: 1) All of your cookies will be uniform 2) You get to choose the shape--keepin' things interesting!
Onto the cooking...
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar

Beat in the egg and vanilla

Sift all of the dry ingredients together

Then gradually blend the dry ingredients into the wet

Choose an insert--this one's a Scottie--and fill your cookie press
Camels! I made a few butterflies, too!
Space the cookies a couple inches apart on an ungreased, nonstick cookie pan. Bake 10-12 minutes, turning the pan once.


And now, what good are these little beauties without the icing? I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, and found a pack of Dunkaroos in my lunchbox, I felt obligated to stick my finger in the container and dig out all the icing. The homemade version is no different. Dunkaroos just aren't Dunkaroos without the icing. Since most recipes yield enough to frost whole cakes, and because my lunchbox doesn't need 3 cups of icing, I scaled it down.
I started with 2 Tbl of softened butter

Creamed the mess out of it

Added a scant cup of powdered sugar and stirred to combine 
Did someone say chocolate?
Then I added cocoa powder, half a teaspoon at a time, until it looked tasty, and poured in a tiny bit of milk

Just the right amount!

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The perfect lunchtime dessert!
Why I should never talk on the phone while baking!
Until next time!

3 comments:

  1. Ha! I remember DunkARoos. How about those animal crackers in the cute circus train box with a string handle? PHO or no-PHO? And my personal favorite, Twinkies? Mmmm.

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  2. Hey girl. I am going to make Big Ed some Bacon Pralines! Imagine, if you can...

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  3. Bacon Pralines?! It's a holiday miracle!

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