I was recently contacted by Domino's to review their new limited edition triple chocolate cookies. The challenge was simple - try them and compare them to your own. As you know I absolutely LOVE cookies and I love baking challenges so it was a no brainer. Yes please! To shake things up a little, I decided to have a blind taste test with my friends. The results? ... wait and see.....
I made a recipe from Sainsburys which I've never made before but it looked good and their triple chocolate brownies are my favourite so I thought it would be a good bet. It has melted chocolate, cocoa powder and chopped chocolate! Yum!
adding chopped chocolate to the mix
slightly irregular cookies... 
ta- da! 
warm from the oven
I ordered the Domino's cookies online and they arrived in a box of 4 still warm!
What did the taste testers think? (They did not know which cookie was mine and which was Domino's at the time of tasting)
Taste tester 1: - Crisp on the outside and fudgy in the middle - mmmm (Domino's cookie)
- mmm.... ok.... (my cookie)
Domino 1: bakingaddict 0
- a bit dry and too "cocoa-ey" (my cookie)
Domino 2: bakingaddict 0
Taste tester 3: - They're heavy and more like a brownie. Nice but a little dry (Domino's cookie)
- Taste more like a cookie. I can taste more of the white chocolate here (my cookie)
Domino 2: bakingaddict 1
My personal opinion: The Domino's cookies looked slightly burnt and dense. Not very impressive to look at. However, I agree that it had a nice fudgy middle with crisp outsides and definitely tasted more like a cakey-brownie. I really liked my own cookies (not just because I made it!) They were light and crumbly and bursting with chocolate. You can really taste the chocolate in the cookie and the chunks were great! If I wanted a brookie (cross between a brownie and cookie) then my vote would go to Domino's but if we are talking cookies which we are here then I definitely preferred mine.
Domino 2: bakingaddict 2
side by side, Domino's on left, mine on right
close up of Dominos cookie
Close up of my cookie
Recipe from Sainsburys website
150g dark chocolate
150g unsalted butter
100g light brown soft sugar
75g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
175g plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
150g milk chocolate, chopped into chunks
150g white chocolate, chopped into chunks
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
- Melt the dark chocolate by placing it in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Alternatively, you can melt it in the microwave but make sure it does not burn!
- Whisk the butter, sugars and vanilla extract until creamy.
- Stir in the melted dark chocolate and the egg.
- Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and a pinch of salt (if using), until well combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chunks.
- Spoon rounds of the mixture onto the trays and bake for 12 minutes.
Haha what a great idea to do the blind taste test! I did love that fudginess in the middle but I agree that yours (and my version too) had far more choc chunks in the middle and big enough to really taste them too, but I was still impressed considering they were from Domino's!
ReplyDeleteI thought it would be fun and they were certainly up for it :) I was impressed too more so because they taste better than they look!
DeleteI'm impressed (and a bit jealous) that Domino's contacted you- that's really cool!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was a fun challenge and I'm glad I got the opportunity :)
DeleteHmm, maybe if Domino's labels them as brownie cookies?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea - I'm sure they will sell like hot cakes :)
DeleteI agree that the Domino's cookies have the same sort of appearance as Oreo cookies... nothing can be that dark in colour from cocoa/chocolate alone so I never know what that's all about - they sound pretty good based on the reviews your testers have given!
ReplyDeleteThey really were quite tasty if you like fudgy, brownie like cookies. Perhaps theres some food colouring - going to read the label on my oreo cookie packet now :)
DeleteYour so lucky to have Domino's contact you. I like how you did the taste test, fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks I was pleasantly surprised to receive the email. I thought it would be fun to do a taste test :)
DeleteYou taste testing sounds like a fun party. I really like my cookie to be crumbly and crispy.
ReplyDeleteYOu really had a eureka moment calling them "brookies: :D !!
It was a fun party indeed :) I've made brookies previously which is where I got the idea from!
DeleteWOW intersting challenge hehe but i don't need to try them and I already know yours are better I don't like anything that tastes remotely burnt hehe and i think yours looks better ~ YUM!
ReplyDeleteThanks Daisy, that's so kind. It was interesting watching my friends blind taste the cookies especially when they were obviously gravitating to the Domino one and I was trying to be as neutral as possible!
DeleteOoooo what a fab challenge! How do you find out about these things...do they just email you? Your cookies look great...and it's good to know that you can draw against a professional organisation!! :-)
ReplyDeleteI got an email request which I was pleasantly surprised by. Thanks for your suppoet! I do think mine look better :)
DeleteRos, I love your baking but credit where credit is due these cookies look far better than Dominoes and that is my honest opinion. I love the fact that nobody could tell the difference - how cool is that. That is a true testament to you culinary skills.
ReplyDeleteThanks! That's really nice of you to say - I managed to choose friends who have not tried any of my cookies previously so it was quite a fair blind taste test! I'm definitely standing by my cookies :)
DeleteI love that you did a taste test, I really struggle to get mine so thick I'm sure they must almost freeze theirs before they bake them to keep the shape
ReplyDeleteNom! x
Ooh what a great idea - I must try that next time. I did wonder how they got it so thick.
DeleteWhat a fun challenge! The Domino kind does look really chocolatey but more brownie-like and dense. I think I would like yours better, too!
ReplyDeleteIt was good fun indeed :) Thanks for your vote :)
DeleteGreat challenge. How fun!
ReplyDeleteYes it was good fun :)
DeleteWow! Awesome Ros, great challenge indeed! I must say that I like yours better than the Domino's! And they do look like burn to me too , like over baked. I love yours with pieces of chocolate & very tasty!:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your vote Kit! The cookies were very tasty indeed :)
DeleteI didn't think they looked up to much either, but they were very chocolatey.
ReplyDeleteThey definitely taste better than they look!
Delete