A Dessert for Everyone Who Misses Dunking Cookies in Frosting
Feeling nostalgic for a certain childhood snack? Make these puff-pastry treats.
It’s no secret that we love a dessert dip here at Food Network Kitchen, whether it’s inspired by Sicilian cannoli or a summery strawberry shortcake. But our first experience with a dessert dip was probably Dunkaroos, everyone's favorite '90s snack that’s back for a limited time this summer. Since tracking down the beloved cookies-and-frosting duo has proven to be quite a challenge during quarantine, we were extra excited to stumble across Erin McDowell’s Puff Pastry Dunkers class in the Food Network Kitchen app. Her take on the nostalgic dessert is sure to be a hit with kids and grown-ups alike.
Instead of making cookies from scratch, Erin uses store-bought puff pastry, leaving plenty of time to focus on the true star of the combo: the frosting. She starts by rolling out the pastry and cutting it into easy-to-eat fingers, although if you’re making this dessert with kids, she recommends cutting out fun shapes with cookie cutters. No need to break out a ruler or stress about precision here; as Erin says, “This is not a time to worry about being perfect, we just want to make a delicious snack!”
Erin then brushes each strip of dough with egg wash and adds a generous dose of sprinkles on top. While she’s partial to confetti-style sprinkles for their bright color and their ability to withstand high baking temperatures, you can also use sanding sugar, turbinado sugar, cinnamon sugar or regular granulated sugar. “You want to go pretty heavy with your sprinkling,” advises Erin. “The puff pastry itself isn’t sweet, so this is how we’re adding sugar to our dunkers.”
Once the dunkers go into the oven, it’s frosting time. Erin makes not one but two irresistible sauces to serve alongside the cookies. First up is crème anglaise, a light vanilla custard that’s equally delicious warm or chilled. If you’ve ever been intimidated by tempering eggs, definitely pay close attention here: Erin breaks down how to achieve a silky-smooth custard every time without scrambling the eggs. And since Erin is never one to keep things vanilla, she also whips up a decadent chocolate ganache with dark chocolate, heavy cream and a couple knobs of butter for extra richness and sheen.
Both sauces can be made advance and are the perfect partners for the crunchy, lightly sweet puff pastry. Our only addition? Make sure everyone gets their own mini bowls of each sauce — when the frosting is this good, it’s impossible not to double-dip.
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