Easy Ways To Make Store-Bought Cookie Dough Taste Homemade

There's one holiday tradition that's a staple in many homes, and that's baking an assortment of tasty cookies. Not only are they perfect for putting on a tray for little ones to greet Santa, but they also serve as quick desserts or snacks for holiday visitors.

The only catch is with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it can be hard to find time to bake cookies from scratch. You can use storebought cookie dough in a pinch, but this doesn't usually taste quite the same. To help you out, Daily Meal spoke with Jerrelle Guy, artist, recipe developer at her test kitchen blog Chocolate for Basil, and author of the cookbook "Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing," in an exclusive interview. Guy gave some tips and tricks on how you can take your favorite storebought cookie dough and tweak it so that it fools your friends and family into thinking you made it from scratch.

The first step to making storebought cookie dough exceptional is choosing the right type. Jerelle Guy notes that Nestle Toll House is a personal favorite due to fond childhood memories, but the ingredients in the dough also weigh into why she likes it so much. "I appreciate that they use ingredients like real chocolate chips and real sugar," she explains, adding, "You'd be surprised how many don't."

Other ingredients Guy notes you'll want to keep an eye out for include the number of preservatives in the dough. She says to look for dough with minimal preservatives, which, although they can help the dough last longer, can also alter the flavor of your cookie, such as giving it a bitter or metallic taste. You'll also want to avoid any artificial ingredients that take the place of butter, vanilla, sugar, or chocolate chips in a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. These ingredients, although they may help bring the cost of the storebought dough down, don't lend the same rich, homemade flavor you're looking for.

Once you've chosen a good cookie dough, the next step is jazzing it up and giving it a homemade feel. Jerelle Guy advises homebakers to pay attention to the original flavor of the cookies as they consider their mix-ins, while also getting creative and playing around with flavors. From there, it's time to get creative. "Stir in a variety of quality chopped chocolate with different cocoa percentages, butterscotch morsels or peanut butter pieces, nuts, dried fruit, or spices like cardamom," she suggests.

Guy also notes that you could use dough-enhancing ingredients instead. She suggests trying malted milk powder or espresso powder to add complexity. Or, if you've gone with a boxed version, you could also stir in some browned butter to enhance the cookie dough. This incorporates rich caramel notes and is an ingredient that works particularly well in chocolate chip cookies.

For the purists out there, Guy also says you can just "keep it simple and sprinkle a bit of flaky sea salt on top before baking." No matter which route you go, with these simple tips, you'll be able to easily take storebought cookie dough to the next level this holiday season.