I am amazed at the number of convenience items that are in our grocery stores; some are reasonably good and are worth purchasing when we are really in a hurry, and some are absolutely vile and ridiculous! Since I love to cook, I prefer to make most of my food from scratch, but there are times that I need something fast and am forced to resort to using a few convenience items. I pick and choose carefully, however; some so-called convenience foods are not only expensive and full of very nasty ingredients, not to mention preservatives, but they often take as long to prepare as making the same item from scratch! Refrigerated cookie dough is one convenience food that I just discovered, and while I would never use it to make cookies, I find it makes quite delicious desserts in a flash.

I was recently flying with a fellow flight attendant who told me how to make a fruit cobbler using only four ingredients, one being refrigerated sugar cookie dough (which I had never before purchased). I tested his recipe at home, made a few changes to suit my tastes, and am including it in this article; hands on time for this cobbler is about 15 minutes, and it can bake while the family is eating dinner. When I saw that there are several varieties of refrigerated cookie dough available, however, I decided it would be fun to test different flavors in other fast and easy desserts. The following Shortcut Raspberry Chocolate Crumble is my family’s favorite so far, and nobody will ever guess that it was so fast and easy; it is actually good enough to serve company.

Shortcut Raspberry Chocolate Crumble

Note: This crumble has almost equal parts of thick filling and crumbly crust. If you prefer more filling to crust, add an additional bag of raspberries and 1/4 cup additional sugar.

12 Servings

2 12 oz. packages frozen raspberries, (no sugar added)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 package refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, (18 ounces)
2 cups oats

Place the raspberries in a 9 x 13" glass dish. Mix the sugar and cornstarch; stir the mixture into the raspberries. Cover and microwave five minutes; remove from the microwave and stir. Microwave an additional five minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the cookie dough into small pieces. Place it in a mixing bowl and add the oats. Mix until crumbly.

When the raspberry mixture is done, crumble the cookie mixture evenly over all. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 344 Calories from Fat 79
Percent Total Calories From:
Fat 23% Protein 5% Carb. 72%

Nutrient Amount per
Serving
Total Fat 9 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 188 mg
Total Carbohydrate 62g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 4 g

Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 16% Calcium 0% Iron 11%

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Easy Cookie Cobbler

12 Servings

1 1/4 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 16 oz. packages frozen fruit, berries or peaches
18 ounces refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough

Mix the sugar and cornstarch; add to the frozen fruit and pour into a shallow baking dish, about 11 x 7. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power 5 minutes; stir then microwave 5-7 more minutes or until boiling.

Cut the roll of cookies into 12 pieces. Lay them on the top of the fruit. Sprinkle sugar or cinnamon sugar on top of the cookie dough. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned on top.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream

Amount Per Serving
Calories 410 Calories from Fat 94
Percent Total Calories From:
Fat 23% Protein 2% Carb. 75%

Nutrient Amount per % Daily
Serving Value
Total Fat 10 g 16%
Saturated Fat 3 g 15%
Cholesterol 10 mg 3%
Sodium 131 mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 77 g 26%
Dietary Fiber 0 g 0%
Sugars 14 g
Protein 2 g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 112% Calcium 0% Iron 4%