We’re stepping into the baking realm today! Having explored various places one bite at a time, we’re venturing to a place that is out of this world… kind of.

The STEM/space world has been delivering some joy to our planet. Historic first all-female spacewalks by NASA astronauts (#girlpower – hooray!), and Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its successful launches are just some of the smile-worthy headlines. Oh, and I can’t forget two notable mentions: the bedazzled dinosaur and Baby Yoda zero-G indicators from SpaceX’s Demo-2 and Crew-1 flights respectively!

There is a space story that captured my foodie heart instantly: the first cookies were baked in space in late 2019 and early 2020! They’re none other than Earthlings’ much beloved chocolate chip cookies.

Hilton conducted an experiment to bake their famed DoubleTree Cookies in space. A batch of cookie dough was launched (talk about precious cargo!), and it safely arrived on-board the International Space Station. Astronauts became astro-bakers when it was time to commence the experiment. The cookies took a duration of 2 hours to bake in a ‘Zero G’ oven (an oven that operates in micro-gravity) in a rotating lab beyond the skies, instead of 20-ish minutes in an oven in an Earthly kitchen! Those cookies weren’t given the green light to be classified as being ‘completely edible’ just yet, though, as further testing was required. That’s one small step for cookies, and one giant leap for bakers!

Looking at floating chocolate chip cookies resulted in my reminiscing of baking (more like experimenting with) cookies and soaking in their glorious scents that grace the atmosphere. It sparked my inspiration to embark on a simple yet fun experiment in my own lab: my kitchen.

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I enjoyed experimenting with ‘half a cake mix box’ red velvet cakes back in September. This time, we’re visiting the first boxed baked treat that I experimented with back in the day: Betty Crocker’s cookies. Transforming chocolate chip cookie mixes into little cakes, and playing with ratios whilst substituting and adding ingredients resulted in both delicious creations and good fun. In my subsequent visit to the shops, a boxed cookie mix conveniently dropped into my basket for the next adventure. It’s time to grab my metaphoric lab coat and sleuthing magnifying glass!

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My mission for this experiment was simple: substitute butter with olive oil. The instructions specify that 100g of butter is required, but what effect would olive oil have on these cookies? Being used to cookies that comprise of butter as a primary ingredient, I was especially intrigued with the idea of completely substituting butter with olive oil. Additionally, with a pack of oats sitting in my pantry, I decided to add some into the mix as a little nod to DoubleTree’s cookies. This recipe makes 12 chunky cookies.

Olive Oil Cookie Mix Choc Chip Cookies

Equipment

• Kitchen Scale
• Tablespoon (TBSP)
• Mixing Bowl
• Mixing Spoon
• Baking Sheet
• Baking Tray

Ingredients

• 100g Cookie Mix (I used Betty Crocker’s Chocolate Chip mix)
• 1 Egg
• 70g Olive Oil (I used grams on the scale as it’s a direct measurement comparison to 100g of butter, which was substituted)
• 3 TBSP Oats

Let’s Get Baking!

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl
2. Add all of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients
3. Give everything a good mix until it becomes the texture of cookie dough
4. Pre-heat oven at 180˚C (or 350˚F)
5. Line your baking pan with a layer of baking sheet
6. Roll cookie dough into balls – roughly the amount of dough that you can fit into your hand. Place each dough ball apart from one another on your tray for ample space to expand
7. Bake at 180˚C (or 350˚F) for 10 – 15 minutes
8. Remove from oven, and allow them to cool
9. Grab a cookie and take a large bite! Bon Appetit!

Firstly, the scent is AMAZING. I wish my camera could capture the aroma, because it exudes vibes of warmth and bliss. A batch of classic American-style cookies that we know and love is the result. They’re the kind of cookies that I adore: lightly crispy around the edges and soft in the center. There is a shadow of oats in each bite, as the oats are the supporting crew to chocolate chips’ star quality.

Olive oil resulted in a moister cookie dough than regular dough. As a result, the cookies are softer when they’re fresh out of the oven. When they’ve cooled completely, there really isn’t a difference in taste and texture. These cookies became a little crispier the next day – and there aren’t any clues that point to the inclusion of olive oil.

I highly recommend having a single chunky cookie as one serving portion because the cookie mix is a tad on the sweet side, to my flavor palate at least. You can add another tablespoon of oats to reduce the sweetness a bit and for a deeper depth of oaty flavor (which is what I’d do in the future).

Also, these cookies are perfect for sharing with family and friends. The official Taste Testers (also known as my family!) enjoyed these cookies too. With seals of approval from the cookie-lovers who were munching on these cookies, I hereby declare the olive oil chocolate chip cookies experiment a success!