The record-high temperatures across the southwestern United States have made it practically impossible to spend long periods of time outdoors. Normally, sitting in a car’s greenhouse on a summer day without air conditioning is dangerous. This month, it’s a death sentence. One Reddit user illustrated the heat’s intensity by baking cookies inside their car.
The Reddit user u/8andahalfby11 posted a series of photos showing the process and the final results of making chocolate-chip cookies under their rear window. The Phoenix, Arizona resident has weather conditions in their favor as the city has spent nearly a month with the daily high over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. A picture included showed a thermometer touching the baking tray reading 163.6 degrees. The user noted that they put a towel under the tray to prevent scorching the car’s interior during the four-and-a-half-hour bake.
The car was definitely hot, but not truly oven hot. Most traditional cookie recipes have the dough baked at 350 degrees. Many commenters were concerned that the underbaked car cookies were a salmonella risk. The user replied, “For this experiment, I used a premade Pillsbury cookie dough that is designed to be eaten raw. I deliberately did it this way because most scratch-made cookie batters use eggs or untreated flour, which when cooked this slowly presents a salmonella risk.”
How did they taste? The user answered, “They tasted like cookies. I’m used to oven-made cookies being a bit softer in the middle, but these had pretty similar consistency throughout.” Personally, I like soft-baked cookies. I would give this baking method a go if I ever move to a city on the bottom rack of an oven.