Make Homemade Dunkara and Relive the 1990s
Welcome back to Sunday Sus maintenance! Last week I turned on the heat on some crunchy wings on the grill for dads, but today we’re going to take shelter from the heat and humidity in favor of childhood memories.
I grew up in the 90s, now there is lawlessness in food. My favorite drinks were Sunny D and Capri Sun, but I often drank water from a hose. While we never had 30 kids older than when Mom held out bagels or pizza rolls, my sister and I often fought over the last can of RavioliO for lunch. And I have the scars to prove it.
School cafeterias were like the United Nations back then, and we traded one tasty bite for another. Pudding for Cheetos, Mondo Juice Bottles for Kool-Aid Bursts. With the exception of Reese’s cup that was in Lunchable, nothing in the world of String Things and Fruit by the Foot was more valuable than the one and only legendary Dunkaroos.
Dunkaroos were nothing more than a dessert version of Handi Snacks. Everyone loved Teddy Grahams, the Oreos, and sometimes Nutter Butter, but it wasn’t until the folks at Dunkaroo headquarters decided to pair them with frosting in a portable container that we really backed down and considered combining things that weren’t normally paired. My first Dunkaroo may have been anEureka moment that pushed me towards a culinary career and obsession.
For failure
- 1 box Funfetti-style cake mix – Seriously
- 6 oz. The “whipped filling” usually found in your grocer’s freezer.
- 2 cups plain, full-fat yogurt – not Greek
- Sprinkles rainbow
This is the easiest dive you have ever done and I want you to keep it a secret. Speak as if it is some kind of great effort that takes time. Because all you have to do is mix the ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth. Refrigerate for 4 hours before sprinkling liberally with sprinkles. Yeah. That’s all. While there are those who write poetry about dip, the cookie is the key here. You want a good crunch, but not too plump, and also a secret ingredient. It’s not a secret, I suppose, given that it is documented on the Dunkaroos Wikipedia page , but cinnamon is something that will keep them from getting bored. It’s a bunch of sugar sauce.
For cookies:
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ glass of butter
- ⅓ cups light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Sift flour, powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Whisk the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, this will take about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and stir until smooth.
Add flour in portions at low speed and wait until it is blended to add more. After all the flour has been added and mixed, shape the cookie dough into a disk, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Like most doughs, it can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two or frozen.
Time is over! Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle flour on a flat, dry surface and roll out the dough to an inch thick. Use a tiny cookie cutter – ideally in a kangaroo shape – and cut out the cookies until nothing remains. I lost track of how much I got from this test with a 1 “round knife. Somewhere between three and Texas , but probably closer to 70.
Bake cookies until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. When done, transfer to a wire rack to cool.
If you need to use more than one cookie sheet, do not use the same cookie sheet you just removed from the oven. The cookies will start baking as soon as you touch the hot skillet, and this will completely disrupt your time. What’s next is pretty obvious. Enjoy the first one and then drop another 30 or so.
To make the cookies even sweeter, you can glaze them when they have cooled. Whisk a glass of sugar with a glass of water in a saucepan and simmer until the sugar dissolves and the frosting is clear. Let the frosting cool to just above room temperature before lightly applying to the cookies. Let dry for an hour. And if you’re absolutely craving for chocolate (and who isn’t?), You can replace Funfetti brownie mix with brownie mix.
Get creative. There are no bad options on this trip down memory lane.