Food
Opinion by Rachel Askinasi
Updated
- I tried two well-known, ready-to-bake cookie dough brands to find out which is better.
- In testing both Pillsbury and Nestlé Toll House cookie dough, I found that they don't taste all that different.
- The real difference lies in the texture of the two cookies.
- I thought the Pillsbury dough yielded a crunchier, bumpier cookie while the Toll House dough turned into a more smooth and chewy cookie.
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Every time I'd visit my grandmother growing up, she always had a roll of ready-to-bake cookie dough in her refrigerator. And every time she came to visit me, she'd bring one with her. We'd take it out of the fridge, slice off the end of the salami-like log with a knife, and get to baking.
Yes, making cookies from scratch is great, and we probably did that once in a while. But there's something about ready-to-bake dough that makes for an easy activity with a yummy endgame. Those are the cookies I remember.
Both Pillsbury and Nestlé Toll House sell their ready-to-bake cookie dough in log form, which makes for a super easy process of slicing and baking. I wanted to find out if there was a difference between the products when it came to taste, texture, and how long they took to bake, so I put the two iconic baked-goods brands to the test.
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I thought Nestlé's package was easier to open than Pillsbury's.
Both ready-to-bake logs of dough are sealed using metal twists, so the way I've come to open them is by cutting off one end.
I poked a hole in both packages with my knife and was easily able to slice the Toll House plastic. I had to make several incisions in the Pillsbury package in order to get it open.
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In my professional opinion, sampling the dough is a quintessential part of making cookies. I thought Pillsbury's had slightly more flavor.
Both packages advise against consuming raw cookie dough, but I can never help myself from sneaking a taste.
I thought the raw Pillsbury dough had more of a grainy texture to it than Nestlé's dough. The flavor of Pillsbury was a smooth, recognizable cookie dough flavor and it wasn't too sweet, in my opinion.
I found that the texture of the Toll House dough was softer than Pillsbury's, but I didn't think it had as much flavor. In my opinion, the chocolate chips did have more flavor than those in the Pillsbury mixture, though.
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The log of ready-to-bake cookie dough meant all I needed to do was slice off a circle and put it on the pan. I thought the Toll House dough was easier to work with.
As I sliced off 1-inch rounds of dough to place on the baking sheet, the Toll House dough stayed in discs while the Pillsbury dough broke apart more often.
I had to push the Pillsbury dough back together to keep the rounds in one piece.
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Both dough packages displayed similar cooking instructions.
They were both supposed to be baked on a cookie sheet at around 350 degrees for a minimum of 12 minutes.
Nestlé's instructions recommended 12-13 minutes while Pillsbury's instructions recommended 12-15 minutes with an additional minute out of the oven for cooling.
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I checked on the cookies after 12 minutes and thought both needed a little more time in the oven.
While I thought the Pillsbury cookies looked sufficiently golden after just 12 minutes, they were nearly raw in the center.
Nestlé's coloring was still a bit on the light side after 12 minutes, in my opinion, so I decided to put both back into the oven for another two minutes, which did the trick.
When I pulled them out at the 14-minute mark, both cookies were golden brown and had cooked through more in the center. I thought they had a nice brown color on the bottom.
Fourteen minutes was the sweet spot for my experiment, but it's important to note that all ovens are different. I think it's best to check on the cookies periodically and pull them out when you feel like they're at the right consistency.
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There's a visible difference between the Pillsbury and Toll House cookies, but I didn't think there was much of a flavor difference.
The Pillsbury cookies expanded a bit in the oven, but for the most part, they held onto their shape and their clunky grooves.
Nestlé's cookies melted outward, flattened, and became visibly smoother as they cooked.
Even though they looked different, I wasn't able to taste a major difference when it came to flavor. The Toll House cookies were slightly saltier than the Pillsbury cookies, which I thought made them taste better, but that's just my flavorful opinion.
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Ultimately, I think it comes down to texture. If you like a crunchier cookie, I think you should go with Pillsbury. If you prefer a softer, chewier cookie, go with Toll House.
Since the flavors weren't all that different, I think this one comes down to personal preference.
The Nestle Toll House cookies stayed chewier for longer while I found that the Pillsbury cookies hardened and got crunchy throughout more quickly.
If you prefer a crunchier cookie that's got some texture on the surface and chocolate chips that are still intact, I think the Pillsbury ready-to-bake dough is for you. But if you're someone who enjoys a chewier — but still crunchy on the outside — cookie with chocolate chips that melt a bit more in the oven, I think you should reach for Toll House ready-to-bake dough.
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