Recipe: Homemade Dunkaroos
A from-scratch version of the beloved lunch box snack
Something about dipping marsupials into frosting made us lose our minds in the 1990s.
In lunch box currency, Dunkaroos were the gold doubloons. You might think you could pull off a double trade for your friend's coveted Pringles, but then that kid would swoop in with Dunkaroos and put your sad Gushers and Goldfish to shame. Then, suddenly, they were gone. Thankfully, we have Canada, the one place they're still in production (and Amazon, of course). But since fueling your nostalgia addiction can get expensive (that shipping isn't going to pay for itself), we're giving you a way to make them at home that tastes just as good—or even better—than you remember.
Rather than use graham flour for the toasty cookies, keep it simple with all-purpose and emulate the taste with an extra dose of cinnamon. And while the cookie isn't overly sugary, our rainbow sprinkle-freckled frosting will jolt you. The Pinterest world swears by mixing Cool Whip with Funfetti cake mix, but since you're already making the cookies from scratch, stay on board the homemade train with a classic vanilla buttercream.
Granted, we happened to have a miniature pig-shaped cutout on hand—small animal cookie cutters are a weird niche to fill, so use whatever you have and play pretend. It's just going to get shrouded by a puff of funfetti frosting anyway.
Check out our favorite cookie recipes.
Recipe from the Tasting Table Test Kitchen
Homemade Dunkaroos
In lunch box currency, Dunkaroos were the gold doubloons. Now that they’re (sadly) discontinued, make your own version of the childhood snack.
Ingredients
- For the Cookies
- 1¼ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- For the Frosting
- ½ cup room-temperature unsalted butter
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ½ cup rainbow sprinkles
Directions
- Make the cookies: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture until just combined. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
- While the cookies are chilling, make the icing: In a stand mixer, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add the salt, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of milk, and beat until smooth. Continue adding milk until the frosting is fluffy, then gently stir in the sprinkles.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Lightly flour a kitchen surface, then place the dough on top and lightly flour the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to a ⅛-inch thickness. Use a small cookie cutter to punch out shapes and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until the bottoms and edges of the cookies turn golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack. When they're completely cool, dip in the frosting and serve.