Friday, August 28, 2009

Casualty of a cookie disaster

I like to bake. For the most part I have success in most things baked. Why cooking is so different, I am not quite sure, but I foresee cooking classes in my future.

After last night, baking classes may be necessary too!

I have been on this cookie crusade for some time now. I have a friend who left on his mission a few months ago and he is in great need of a care package from me. I have another friend who knows nothing of a mission, but I adore him anyway and wish I were near him. He too is in great need of a care package from me. My hope was to send a feast of cookies out west for Justin and up north for that other guy.

This week I made a double batch of (sister) Sarah's cookie recipe. Kelly and I decided it lacks the proper amount of flour so we always add more, until we feel it's at the right place in that department. I guess I added too much flour, because they tasted, well, woody and dry. The dough was even too dry, you can easily tell:

I made a few dozen with this batch of dough, but they were not really that great. The girls didn't mind (Jenna loves her some cookies!) so I sent them home with them on Wednesday.

Last night I decided I would make a brand new batch of dough, add NO flour and begin adding the original cookie batter with excess flour. It didn't look like too much of a mess:

...until I baked a few test cookies:





I finally decided that since the batter didn't taste horrible, I would try to bake a sheet cake. Yeah, not a great idea either.

It baked for 20 minutes and was burnt on top and not cooked enough on the bottom. I cooked it more...and it was even more burnt on top and still not cooked enough on the bottom. It sits in my large red trash can as I type.

The worst part is the casualty of cookie disaster:

Just look at that...Tony's whisk is broken! Now I am going to have to order a new one.

blah! ugh! & good grief!

6 comments:

Leviticus said...

Love ya babe, but... this is why more people need to watch Alton Brown.

Baking is like chemistry... each ingredient in a recipe serves a purpose in a chemical reaction - modifying recipes to the degree of 'this ingredient before that' is asking for disaster.

You're cooking in your mixing bowl and baking in the oven - change proportions of the mix slowly (small increments), but don't change the order and timing of the mix. (unless you're sure, or want your batch to fail.)

You're more of a cook than you know.

Jodi said...

I feel your pain! Good luck!

Supershepherds said...

Oh honey, I'm sorry. What Levi said. Try a basic tollhouse recipe to reboost your confidence--cant go wrong there.

John IV said...

+1 to what the shepherds said. the recipe on the back of the nestle morsels bag is the easiest and best choc chip cookie recipie ever, and you can do it as cookies or a sheet and it works GREAT!!

reba said...

Yes, this was me until about 5 years ago...ask Daryl. I have a great recipe that you do by hand so that it's never too dry or too wet! I'll email if you'd like or come over and we'll bake:) I have a 30 minute, from start to in your mouth roll recipe that is divine!

Unknown said...

Um, poo to ALL of you. It's a gift to make perfect, and I do mean PERFECT homemade, fluffy, fat,soft, golden brown cookies....which is why you should just let the originator of the recipe make them FOR you!!! I admire your determination, but honey, it's the one thing I've got (I can't cook for beans!)....and I'll keep making them for you!! And I'm doubly sorry about your whisk. Gag!! How long does it take to replace THAT bad boy???