Do you have cookie dunkers in your life?
Do they use their fingers? Or maybe a fork?
Since I don’t normally eat cookies that way, I went to an expert — my finger-dipping- cookie cousin Taryn.
Armed with three types of Oreo cookies — regular, double stuffed and thins — miniature chocolate-chip cookies, mini doughnuts and cups of milk, we began a quest to see which of three tools would get a dunked cookie into our mouths easiest and with the least mess.
First, the Dunking Buddy. The package consists of a magnetic tray and button-like handle, plastic cup and two-pack of Oreos.
To use, place the cookie in the tray and the tray inside the cup, making sure the magnetic side is against the cup wall, where it will make contact with a magnet in the button. Slide the handle up and down to dip the cookie. It’s best to make sure the “Dunking Buddy” name on the button is right side up or upside down, but not sideways. This gives the magnets the greatest points of contact.
The Dipr is only for sandwich cookies, so the chocolate chip cookies and doughnuts were useless. To use this hook-shaped utensil, the cookie rests on the half-circle end of the tool, with the curved end pushed slightly into the cream of the cookie.
Last we tried a fork, as recommended by a co-worker. This worked on the sandwich cookies and doughnuts, but not the chocolate chip cookies, which broke when we tried to pierce them. Like the Dipr, the cream layer of the cookie is what holds the fork in place.
>> Do they work? Yes.
>> Pros: The Dipr and fork keep hands dry, as the dunked cookie goes straight from cup to mouth. Both take little drawer space and can be used with almost any type of cup, bowl, etc. The fork’s added advantage: You probably already have one.
The Dunking Buddy may be enjoyable for kids. As my Auntie Linda said, “The others may work better but I like this one because it’s fun to use.”
The Dunking Buddy can also be used for more than sandwich cookies. Four holes on the bottom of the tray let liquid in so the cookie doesn’t have to be dunked all the way.
>> Cons: The Dipr only works with sandwich cookies that fit within its hook. The Dunking Buddy requires straight-sided vessels with walls thin enough for the magnets to connect. Your fingers may get wet retrieving your cookie from the Dunking Buddy and some items, like the doughnut, floated when the tray was immersed. The only downside to the fork was the size of the tines — if they were too thick, sandwich cookies would separate. With all the gadgets, if the items were soaked too long, they fell apart.
>> Cost and availability: At dunkingbuddy.com: $9.95 or $6.95 for just the tray and handle (shipping is $4.50-$13.95). At amazon.com the Dipr is $9.50 with free shipping and the Dunking Buddy (with cup) is $10.50 plus $2.80 shipping.
>> Worth it? I like the design of the Dipr, but in my cousin’s words: “Just use a fork. It’s cheaper (if not free since most people already have forks) and it works just as good.”
Got a gadget that you love? Curious about one you’d like us to test? Email crave@staradvertiser.com or write Crave, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813.
