For the longest time, I only used recipes found on foodnetwork.com. The way Quentin said it once, this way, I know they’re good. AllRecipes is always a nice resource, but I find myself acting more the skeptic on that sight. ”3 tablespoons of salt? I don’t think so…” Lately, I’ve been bonding with the rest of the food blog community. I found a listing of some of the most popular, and I’ve used this to link to others that I’ve found helpful. But this doesn’t help you much when you’re looking for a specific recipe, which I was (I’ll explain why in a moment). Somebody (though for the life of me, I can’t remember who – sorry) had a link to this on their blog. Since I discovered it, it’s become a go to resource when I want to find specific recipes by people a lot like me.
… so why was I looking for a recipe? I got an email from my brother awhile back, which read as follows: “If you were planning to get me a birthday gift, but didn’t want to spend a lot of money, these sound really good.” His birthday is this Saturday, so this past weekend, I started looking at the recipe more seriously, figuring out what ingredients I needed to get. Not to criticize his tastes on his birthday, but 2 cups of almond meal/flour (which I found to be the same thing when talking to a friend of mine who often cooks gluten free) made me sick to my stomach. I’ve actually been avoiding almonds all week (even Valerie’s chocolate covered ones) because the thought of that much almond really bothers me. The rest of the recipe didn’t sound much better. He talks of putting them in the freezer so they don’t get too brittle, an interesting idea to be sure. I’m rarely snobby about my cooking, but I made the decision that I knew better than my brother on the subject of cooking (even if it was gluten free) and over-ruled him.
… but then it was Saturday, and I needed to do something. I found a bag of “gluten free flour mix” at Target. I decided to go with a normal banana oatmeal cookie and just replace the flour with my gluten free alternative. The results might have been amazing, but for a two mistakes. I ran out of oats, with a cup and a half still to go. It was 8 o’clock the evening before I needed to mail them, and I had already been to the store for butter. I’ll just replace it with a little more flour. This was mistake number 1. Had it been “normal” flour, it might not have mattered as much. Mistake number 2 is something I intend to grow from. I was insecure about the cookies, so I peeked in the oven on them after only about 5 minutes of baking. They had spread quite a bit and weren’t rising at all. I ended up dumping in 1/4 cup more flour and a bit more baking soda, and this was a mistake. As it turns out, that’s all the spreading they would do, and they rose quite a bit after that. The first batch was delicious, but the rest were just a little two dry. I played with baking temperature, hoping to remedy this, but it didn’t have much effect. The result was a sub-par cookie. Sorry, bro.
I love experimenting, and people might be prone to think that all experiments go well when you’re a talented cook. Perhaps they do under those circumstances, but if that be so, I clearly am not talented. Nor are many other well respected chefs. In fact, my experimentation almost always stems from my laziness (I don’t want to go to the store to buy the right ingredients or I don’t want to wash all the dishes that would demand) or a desire for self-expression (wouldn’t it be fun to put cinnamon chips* in it??). It really isn’t as honorable as some make it seem, and it has been the source of many failed meals. More often than not, my experimentation gets me into trouble when it comes to baking. I just don’t know enough or have enough patience to be a good baker without a recipe. Still, I often refuse to use one. Eat my baked goods at your own risk.
My next post will contain the cookies I was pleased to present to Chris as a birthday present, though they weren’t at all what he asked for. Be not discouraged by my failures.
*I found cinnamon chips at Kroger in the clearance bin. I’ve been throwing them into all sorts of baked goods since.
