Half Baked Cookie Dough Pots

Half-baked cookie dough puddings are a great make-ahead dessert. Perfect if you are entertaining and bound to impress your house guests. Just spoon the batter into ramekins, store them in the fridge and bake from chilled. These decadent and simple desserts are guaranteed to be loved by adults and children alike. Definitely, one to try on your next date night, family dinner or gathering.

Key ingredients and possible alternatives

• All-purpose/plain flour - avoid using self-raising flour.
• Unsalted butter - do not substitute it with salted butter, the puddings will be too salty if you do. Melt the butter in the microwave first so it is easy to incorporate with the other ingredients.
• Brown sugar - I often opt for brown sugar over white caster sugar because I enjoy its rich caramel flavor. However, you can substitute it with the same amount of caster sugar.
• Egg yolk - this binds the cookie dough mixture.
• Sea salt - this adds a pleasant saltiness to the cookie dough puddings, but be careful, you really do only need a tiny pinch.
• Chocolate chips - choose either milk or dark depending on your preference. You can also chop up a chocolate bar into small pieces instead, just make sure you keep the volume the same.

How to make half baked cookie dough puddings

1. Combine the dry and wet ingredients separately

Set your oven to 180C or 300F. Mix the flour, bicarb and salt in a mixing bowl. Then take another mixing bowl and combine the butter and sugar. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla essence.

2. Mix everything together

Add the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl containing the dry ingredients and fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Bake

Divide the mixture into ramekins and bake for 10-12 minutes in the middle of your oven. The cookie dough puddings are ready when the tops are set but the middle is still soft when you touch it. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and serve with your choice of ice cream.

Tools and Equipment

Half-baked cookie dough pots are one of the simplest desserts you will ever encounter and only require a few items of basic kitchen equipment.

• 2 mixing bowls - you need one mixing bowl to hold the wet ingredients and another to hold the dry ingredients. Choose a large bowl for the dry ingredients as this bowl will hold all ingredients once the wet ingredients are stirred in.
• Measuring spoons - are very useful for getting precise amounts of ingredients especially when recipes require small amounts.
• Ramekins - the half-baked cookie dough puddings are baked separately, so you will need ramekins. The ramekins this recipe has been tested with are 3 inches / 7cm (diameter). You can also use pudding molds instead.

Top tips for perfect half-baked cookie dough pots

1. Melt the butter first - this makes it easier to incorporate with the other ingredients. 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave at high power should do it.
2. Check doneness - cookie dough pots are ready when the top is set. The middle should be soft to touch. Be careful not to under or overbake. You want that gooey center but also want to avoid eating warm raw cookie dough.
3. Make extra - the half-baked cookie dough puddings can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 3 months. It's great to have extra on hand when you want to whip out a quick pud. You can bake the puddings straight from the fridge or from frozen but you will need to add on a few minutes of additional cooking time.
4. Serve with ice cream - warm gooey cooking dough and chilled ice cream are a wonderful combination. Spoon a scoop of your favorite ice cream onto the top of your cookie dough pudding before you tuck in.

FAQs

More speedy sweet treats:

• Easy Banana Caramel Muffins
• Easy Chocolate Fondant Cakes
• Pistachio Date Balls