Published: June 30, 2009 09:49 pm      

Dashboard makes unlikely oven

EDMOND — When someone says it’s hotter than an oven outside, then it is time to take out your cookie sheet, grab some pre-made cookie dough and bake.

With sunny summer days and temperatures soaring past 100 degrees there is no sense in heating up the kitchen — not when you can use your car dashboard.

You could place a thermometer in the car to check the temperature, but why bother? It probably won’t get as hot as the oven, and with this type of baking doneness is determined by touch, not time spent.

If it is 100 degrees outside, the inside of the car will get upwards of 180 degrees, depending on variables like the color of the car, its interior and how tinted the windshield is. In addition, if the car is hot when you put the cookies in, the baking time is shorter.

Try for that magic number of 180 degrees inside the car, otherwise your cookies will just be dehydrating, not actually cooking.

Baking time should take about 2 to 2 1/2 hours if you start when the car is already hot and don’t open your car doors during the cooking time, which would let out the heat. I know, I know, with temperatures above 100 degrees outside you would think you would be letting the heat in. Remember, it is at least 180 degrees inside the car during the baking.

The check for doneness has to be done by hand. You can’t judge your cookie by its color, because they won’t look brown. The sugar in the car cookies does not caramelize and brown like that of oven-baked cookies. Gently press the edges of a cookie to feel that they are firm, and even more gently touch the center of one of the cookies to make sure it is not too gooey. The finished cookies will be light in color, slightly crisp at the edges and chewy in the center.

If you want a firmer center, leave the cookies in a lot longer. If your cookies are not done, add more baking time in 15- or 30-minute increments, instead of the one minute or longer time increments you would add when baking the cookies in the oven.

If you can bake more than one batch at a time, go for it because the finished product won’t last long. For added decadent fun, drive around in your car with its freshly baked cookie smell while you treat yourself to as many cookies as you want.





Baking tips

Park your car so the dashboard gets full sun while the cookies are baking.

Place a towel under your cookie sheet.

Use a hot pad when removing the cookie sheet.

Grab a cookie quick because they will go fast.