Three-ingredient cookies add well-needed simplicity to COVID-19 life

The COVID-19 Pandemic has made shopping for groceries, and baking supplies, a task that has never been taller thanks to long lines and fears of contracting the virus. There’s no need to panic though, as you probably have everything that you need for a batch of fresh cookies right at home.

Recently, the New York Times has been rolling out recipes for basic baking recipes that require a small number of ingredients. A particular article about cookies requiring only three ingredients piqued my interest the most. Times author Daniela Galarza lays out the roadmap for three three-ingredient cookies: butter, peanut butter, and hazelnut, all of which consist of pantry-staples.

After rifling through my mom’s cabinets, I was able to find all I needed for a batch of hazelnut cookies. All that it required of me was a large egg, a cup of all-purpose flour, and a cup of hazelnut spread.

Mixing the dough once all of the ingredients were combined together could be equated to nothing less than a sensory heaven. The aroma that the dough created only intensified with every circle around the bowl with my handheld mixer. The texture of the dough was nothing short of perfect, as everything blended together without a hitch.

Perhaps one of the most satisfying parts of baking the cookies was scooping the dough from the bowl. Galarza says that the recipe should produce 35 cookies but that must be relative to what size cookie scooper you use. For the normal-sized scoop that I used, the recipe yielded exactly 12 scoops, nothing left in the mixing bowl. It was a perfect fit for the baking sheet, and I did not even have to worry about wasting any excess dough.

Now the hardest part, throwing your cookies into the oven (which should be heated to 350 degrees) and smelling them bake!

Overall, the experience of making these cookies was a highly enjoyable one. Not only is it a simple recipe that anyone can make, it is easy to customize as well. I took Galarza’s suggestion of lightly flaking the cookies with sea salt before throwing them in the oven, and it proved to be effectively subtle in adding an additional level of flavor to an already delicious cookie.

This is an incredibly easy recipe to bake, whether you are a college student stuck at home, or you are a parent looking for an activity to do with your kids without breaking the bank. With more of these simple recipes coming to the forefront, it makes you wonder whether or not popular recipes will begin to trend towards having less ingredients. Not only does it economically make sense to buy less ingredients, but we would all have a better understanding of the different things we put in our bodies.

Have you made any three-ingredient cookies? What are you baking in your quarantine kitchen?