My annual tradition is to bake cakes, cookies, pies, etc for my friends and family during the Christmas holidays. Based on the feedback that I get, I rework the recipes that I use. Thus, although my recipes are based on standard instructions, they have evolved into highly personalized forms. This year I decided to make a cookie box with 4 different cookies: Sugar, Linzer, Brownie, and Chocolate Chip cookies. I have plenty of experience with the Sugar and Chocolate Chip cookies but was trying Linzer and brownie cookies for the first time.
My journey to perfect Sugar and Chocolate Chip cookies involved a lot of trial and error, modifications to the recipe, and changes to the quantities of the ingredients. If you were to look at my notes, you would call me the half-blood prince of the bakery!
I had different types of cookies but also wanted a visual emphasis on the variety. Hence, I made the sugar cookies in a chequered and marbled pattern. The chocolate chip cookies of course have chocolate chunks. Finally, the Linzer cookies sandwiched a dollop of bright red strawberry jam.
I had different types of cookies but also wanted a visual emphasis on the variety. Hence, I made the sugar cookies in a chequered and marbled pattern. The chocolate chip cookies of course have chocolate chunks. Finally, the Linzer cookies sandwiched a dollop of bright red strawberry jam.
I planned out my baking over two days. The fragrant aroma of cookie dough rising in the oven combined with the mixer working on the next batch and timers going off transformed my house into a version of Willie Wonka’s “Cookie” Factory with me being the sole Oompa-Loompa. Our neighbors found excuses to wander in the corridor outside and knock on our door with completely transparent conversational topics in order to get a whiff. I packed the cookies in decorative boxes, wrapped them up with gift paper, and tied them up with a ribbon. The culmination of this exercise was knocking on my friend’s doors and handing them their cookies. I loved watching the surprise on their face as they unwrapped the box and their eyes widened as they opened it. They smiled as they chose a cookie and their faces took on a blissful expression as the flavor exploded in their mouths.
This was a great experience not only because it was successful but I got to learn many new things. On the baking front, cocoa powder dries out the dough, I changed the measurements to adjust for this. It was risky to try two new recipes for the first time but I was confident that this would turn out fine due to my prior baking experience. If I were to do this again, I would probably take half as much time by better planning.
Some recipients seemed to think that this was the outcome of a day’s work. While true, I realized that it was actually the outcome of the many days, weeks, and months that I have spent baking over many years. This is not visible, but achieving a certain level of competence and excellence is the result of lots of practice. This is true not just for baking but also for other endeavors. For example, in my studies, if I don’t practice, I won’t be able to solve the ‘difficult problems” in my tests.
