The 'Single Use' Tool To Pull Out For Easily Crushing Up Cookies

Cookies are a favorite treat on their own, of course, but they are also super versatile when you crush them up. No matter what job you need your cookie crumbs for, you are probably going to reach for a rolling pin and a plastic bag to start pounding away at your cookies. But one tool you have gathering dust in your utensil drawer deserves a second life. The underrated potato masher that you probably only use for holiday mashed potatoes actually makes a great cookie crusher as well.

Take a potato masher to graham crackers or even Biscoff cookies for a next-level pudding topping. Whether you're using crumbled-up Oreos for a two-ingredient mug cake or mixing them with cream cheese to make quick and delicious truffles, you'll be glad you reached for the masher first. And although I don't subscribe to the thought of guilty pleasures, I am not particularly proud of how often I potato mash a sleeve of crisp chocolate chip cookies, pour them into a bowl of milk, and eat the pieces like cereal; Cookie Crisp who?

The old methods of crushing up cookies are sufficient, but they also come with their own sets of disadvantages. Using a food processor to grind your cookies works well when you want a fine, even consistency for a crumbled cookie pie crust, but the blades can be a little intense if you still want some texture in your crumbles. The other common approach of placing your cookies in a plastic bag and pounding them with a rolling pin or heavy-bottomed skillet can give you more texture and variety in your crumbs, but no one ever talks about the mess left behind from the cookies poking small holes in the bag and spilling all over the counter.

The humble potato masher alleviates both of these issues, giving you a chunkier texture when needed and avoiding the mess of the plastic bag method. All you need to do is put your cookies into a big bowl or a rimmed sheet pan; this will give you plenty of area to pound away at with your potato masher, but the pieces will be well contained. The wide surface of the potato masher helps to really crush your cookies under pressure rather than pulverizing them into sand. When you want chunks of cookies to sprinkle on ice cream sundaes or fold into batters, you can pound away until you achieve your desired texture.