If you live in Tucson, you've definitely opened your car door on a summer day and said, 'It's as hot as an oven in here.'
Well, we put that old saying to the test today.
As temperatures soared well into the triple digits (it was 100 degrees by 10:30 a.m.), I baked cookies in my car.
Classic ingredients for chocolate chip cookies
I mean, why not? Better than heating up the house, amiright?
Here's how it went
At about 1:30 p.m., the temperature climbed to 110, so I figured it was prime time for car baking.
Thirty minutes later, it was 111 and the cookies went in the car, aka OVEN.
When it hit 111, it was time to bake cookies.
The directions say to bake for 9 to 11 minutes in a 375-degree oven. I figured, at 111 degrees, the car is at least 140-150. So, I expected it to take longer.
I checked the cookies in 10 minutes. They're definitely starting to bake, but are just in the melting stages. Here's how they looked.
After 10 minutes in the car, they're at the melting phase. This is going to be a long batch of cookies.
Since they had such a long ways to go I waited 20 minutes before I checked them again.
So, after a total of 30 minutes, they're looking like goop.
I waited 20 minutes instead of checking it out in ten. So, this is what they look like at 30 minutes bake time.
At 50 minutes, they looked exactly the same as they did 20 minutes before. So, I decided to give it 30 minutes next time around.
I checked them again at an hour and twenty minutes. They look pretty much the same, but this time I touched one to see if they were baking. They are. It was pretty firm and starting to have that baked texture, although they're not browning much.
After baking an hour and twenty minutes.
Thirty minutes later I ended up moving them to the dashboard. I had them in the back before because of the flat surface. Both areas felt just as hot, so I didn't think it would make a huge difference but thought the move might speed things up a little.
It didn't.
After three hours, the cookies were still not done.
They were only half-cooked and just fell apart into a gooey mess when I picked them up.
So, can you bake cookies in the car? I mean, I have a friend in Phoenix who does this every year. Maybe we need that extra 10 degrees to do this successfully. Maybe placing them on the dashboard the whole time would make a difference. Or maybe I should have left them in for another hour. I don't know.
But, for right now, I'm calling this a FAIL!
At least my car smells amazing.
Three hours later, they're still only half cooked. I'm calling it a FAIL!
