Whipped Topping HELP Needed, please!!!

[BlurOfSerenity]

no, nothing kinky, promise!

im going to a cookie exchange tomorrow evening after work, and i need to make 7 dozen cookies tonight for it (i wont have time tomorrow).
my recipe involved whipped topping/coolwhip, which actually gets mixed in with the other ingredients to make the dough. i bought 12 oz containers. because i have never really used cool whip before, i didnt realize you have to thaw it. that size container tales 5 hours to thaw. so it'll be thawed by 11:30 EST tonight. luckily i already had a container thawed, so i have already made some of the cookies. but...

QUESTION: can you thaw cool whip in the microwave? have any of you personally done it, and if so, do you have advice?

google was little help. it took me to the kraft website, which told me microwave thawing is not reccomended, due to wattage variations. but if i do it , like, 20 seconds at a time, could it work? im wondering if it's a wattage/timing issue or if it's really a texture/chemical change issue.

 

[tonksy]

I wouldn't...what I would do is fill the sink up with hot water and float the containers in it, rotating them from time to time...this will help the thawing process.

 

[Nixy]

I agree with Tonks...microwave + cool whip doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling...it's an oil based product and I can see bad things happening in the microwave.

 

[chcr]

Listen to tonks. That's how you thaw something like that.

 

[majestyx]

I wouldn't...what I would do is fill the sink up with hot water and float the containers in it, rotating them from time to time...this will help the thawing process.

The only thing I would change with this is to use WARM water, not hot. You will have to keep warming the water back up more often, but you also won't have runny cool whip either.

 

[tonksy]

My bad...I guess some folks have their water temp set higher on their heater...Maj is right, keep it warm bath water temp.

 

[BlurOfSerenity]

ok, thanks very much! i'll do that, and tell you how it turns out!

 

[BlurOfSerenity]

w00t! it worked like a charm! the stuff was a little bit runny, but it still worked out, i guess because it was being mixed with dry ingredients which could absorb it. the cookies are great! thanks tonks and everyone else who corroborated! *gives cookies to!*

 

[A.B.Normal]

The only thing I would change with this is to use WARM water, not hot. You will have to keep warming the water back up more often, but you also won't have runny cool whip either.

Actually even cold water would work,maybe not as fast as warm but safer if you are concerned about damaging the CW.

 

[BeardofPants]

I have no concept of what this cool whip stuff is. 'Splainy?

 

[A.B.Normal]

I have no concept of what this cool whip stuff is. 'Splainy?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Whip

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Cool Whip

 

[BeardofPants]

Yeah, I read the wiki article but ... huh? Is it like ice cream or summit?

 

[A.B.Normal]

More like a whipped cream,but a non-dairy/unnatural type,that would be put on pumpkin pie.

 

[BeardofPants]

But see, I don't understand, why not just use whipped cream (and not that stuff that comes out of a can either)?

 

[A.B.Normal]

`convenience. Cool whip can be kept frozen until needed.Cream has a short shelf life .The can stuff would be hard to measure for a recipe IMO.not too mention the recipe might have specifically called for it ,I'm always seeing recipes put out by the products manufactures in hopes to boost sales ,even though their product may easily be substituted.

 

[unclehobart]

Cool whip, being a fake whipped cream construct is also a good bit cheaper than real cream. Most people can't tell the difference because they rarely have real food anyway. Half of the populace actually prefer it as it is less fat. It is also fairly stable in that one can remix it into other recipies and still maintain that fluffy lightness and stability at room temperature a good deal longer than real whipped cream.

I never understood freezing the stuff. It already has a fairly decent shelf life. If you don't need the stuff within 6 weeks of purchase... why did you get it in the first place?

 

[tonksy]

I can definitely tell the difference! Cool whip is good for things like pumpkin pie and for mixing in my banana pudding recipe...it's texture is sturdier than whipped cream and it has a tang that whipped cream does not...think of it like this:
Cool whip is to whipped cream what miracle whip is to mayo...does that help?

 

[chcr]

But see, I don't understand, why not just use whipped cream (and not that stuff that comes out of a can either)?

I never use anything but real whipped cream (sometimes out of the can though) as I can't stand Cool Whip. AB and unc have explained pretty well why people do though.

 

[tonksy]

I never understood freezing the stuff. It already has a fairly decent shelf life. If you don't need the stuff within 6 weeks of purchase... why did you get it in the first place?

It goes on sale frequently and there are often coupons in the paper or magazines for it...so when the two combine and you can get it on the cheap, it behooves one to jump on it.

 

[Professur]

I never understood freezing the stuff. It already has a fairly decent shelf life. If you don't need the stuff within 6 weeks of purchase... why did you get it in the first place?

for the same reason you buy condoms. Because you might need them. Often for the same reason.