Being an amateur home baker during my #BakingPhase, I’ve made my share of chocolate chip cookies. These kinds of cookies have almost universal appeal; I usually make them as gifts over the holiday season or as sweet snack treats for the kids.
(Well, back then, I had a lot more free time.)
When I baked these cookies, I sometimes give in to the urge to lick the baking spoon clean because the cookie dough just seems so yummy. The sticky dough is sweeter than the actual baked cookies (a weakness for a sweet tooth like me).
However, I have taken note of warnings against doing so: Homemade dough contains raw flour and eggs. Flour has not been treated to remove risks against E. coli and other germs. Raw eggs, on the other hand, may cause salmonella poisoning. Both of these leads to severe health problems such as abdominal cramps and other more serious digestive ailments.
So, how can we enjoy the same texture and taste of raw cookie dough without the risk?
Well, entrepreneur Alfred Ricafrente has the solution: Spookie, the cookie you eat with a spoon.
Leveraging his culinary training and his experience in a 1-hat restaurant (an establishment with the highest designation) in Australia, he conceptualized a way to keep all that we love about the cookie dough but render it safe for eating through sous vide.
Sous vide (“under vacuum” in French) is a method of cooking in which food is placed in a pouch or glass jar and cooked in a water bath for longer than usual cooking times. This method ensures that the food is cooked evenly and its moistness retained.
Alfred refined a recipe he found through his research and customized it to his taste, with the finished product retaining its dough-like appearance and texture despite actually being cooked.
A jar was delivered to my office where I enjoyed it during my coffee break and as a dessert with my officemates over lunch. Some of them found it too sweet, but that’s a matter of taste. In fact, some are already considering giving some jars away as gifts.
Spookie is available for home deliveries at only Php120 per jar containing 170g of cookie dough. Orders may be coursed through Spookie’s Facebook or Instagram pages, or via email at spookiemanila@gmail.com or via phone at +63 2 2962387.
Spookie keeps for three to four days at room temperature and up to seven days when refrigerated.
Disclosure: A product sample was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
Check out my blog posts on other small enterprises and startups in the food business:
Jellybeans in the City 