Thanks to everyone who voted for Catholic All Year in the Sheenazing Catholic Blogger Awards. Alas we did not win. Now go check out Like Mother, Like Daughter -- a waaaay better blog than mine. Seriously. But then you could come back here if you want. :0)
Well, my first DIY cost analysis / taste test for Pesto Sauce was not the great success I hoped it would be. (Haircuts were a bigger financial success, but not as tasty.) But I'm no quitter. So I'm back to give it another go. This time, with Chocolate Chip Cookies. Homemade just has to win with these, right? right?
Well . . . you'll just have to keep reading to find out. Here are the contenders:
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| Made From Scratch (A) |
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| Home-baked From Store-bought Dough (B) |
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| Store-bought from Bakery (C) |
And here are the helpers. Unlike the Little Red Hen, I always have plenty of willing helpers for all stages of the process.
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| We mixed them . . . |
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| and scooped them . . . |
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| and baked them. |
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| Then we blind-tasted-tested them. |
And the verdict? The store-bought cookies (C) were a clear NON-favorite. There were votes for both made from scratch (A) and baked from pre-made dough (B), but (B) was the winner by a slim margin. You get the same warm, chewy cookies you get from scratch, but my testers really liked how much chocolate they put in their pre-made dough.
But both A and B were acceptable from a taste standpoint. So here comes the cost analysis:
(C) Store-bought were $5 for 50 cookies from the Vons bakery department or $0.10/cookie
(B) Home-baked from Store-bought Dough was $8.29 at Costco for a 5 lb tub that says it makes 80 cookies, or $0.10/cookie
(A) Made From Scratch
- flour $0.38
- baking soda and salt $0.01
- butter $0.91
- white sugar $0.16
- brown sugar $0.51
- vanilla $0.51
- eggs $0.63
- chocolate chips $1.80
for a grand total of $4.91 for 60 cookies, or $0.08/cookie
Whooooo Hooooooo, I win! And actually, I'm not paying for eggs, which puts my cost at $0.07/cookie.
So, is it DIY worth it? I guess this one is a toss-up too. I like making cookies from scratch, so I'm probably going to keep doing it. But it's nice to know that the pre-made dough is a good option from both a time and taste standpoint, and not too bad financially.
And if you don't like making cookies from scratch, you have my permission to never feel bad about buying pre-made cookie dough again. I also don't mind if you eat it right out of the tub.
Update: Thanks to everyone on the comments who has made a couple of totally obvious points that I neglected to mention.
1. The store-bought dough is full of not-so-natural ingredients, including shortening, which I NEVER use when cooking from scratch.
And 2. If you make a double (or more) batch of cookie dough and put the extra in the freezer, then homemade dough is just as convenient as the store-bought stuff.
So . . . two more points for from scratch (for the win!).