Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

Why did you create this blog?

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I love reading other blogs about baking and cookies and such, but became bothered by the sheen of perfection so many put on their posts and products. So often, the cookies seem like no human hands could have baked them - they're so elegant in the photograph composition, the lighting, the retouching, the text. I love cookies that you know are from someone at home who made them with love. They may not look like pastry chefs baked them, but they're familiar and delicious. Plus, I love trying out old recipes - some of them are real challenges! I decided to combine my love for truly home-baked cookies with my passion for research and experimentation, and here you are. 

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How do you pick the recipes for the cookies you bake?

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I collect old cookbooks, so I have a decent home supply. I also comb through the internet for old cookbooks scanned and made available online. 

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How often do you post?

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It takes me a couple of days to bake the cookies, get them taste-tested, compile the results and then create the post. Generally I schedule myself to put up the new posts on Fridays.

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Why do you have other people taste-test and complete surveys about the cookies?

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I hate when I read a lovely blog post about a recipe and it sounds wonderful, and you go home and try it and it's just not what it appears to be. It's either hard to recreate the perfect image of the cookie as portrayed, or the flavors are just not as expected. I want the information on this blog to be real, so I have a number of other people try the cookies and anonymously give their opinions. If a cookie tastes blah, I want to say it tastes blah, and not pretend it's great because I want site clicks. If you are interested in the actual survey given, it's posted at the link above, "Survey."

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Who are the people who taste-test your cookies?

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I work at a public university and am surrounded by offices full of people happy to rate them. I try to rotate through the offices so that no one office gets tired of them week-to-week.

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I have an old cookie recipe I'd like you to bake. How can I get it to you? 

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That sounds awesome. I would need you to send me photos (JPG, GIF scans are best) of: the cookbook's cover, the cookbook's title page, the cookbook's flyleaf with the publication date, and then the total recipe itself. You can send them to my email: pbrooks19@gmail.com. Also include your name and location (city, state) so I can credit your contribution.

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Do you alter or change the recipes that you attempt?

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My main rule for these recipes is to always follow the recipe to the letter - and if there are problems, develop solutions that are 'in the spirit' of the recipe. You will see the recipes and ingredient lists exactly as they appear in their publications; if one author lists a teaspoon as a 'tsp,' that's what I'll copy, and if the next author has it as 't-spoon,' her recipe will have the spelling her way. I always start the baking with 3-4 'test' cookies to make sure they will come out as expected. If there are problems, I'll try to make the recipe work and also keep the outcome as close to what the cookies should be. If an author doesn't ice or sugar a cookie, I won't add it. If an author wants anise seed in her recipe, I won't substitute cinnamon or caraway seed or any other flavoring. Any changes to the original recipe will be dutifully noted in the blog notes.

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What do you do if a recipe just doesn't work?

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I will test a recipe twice if it doesn't work the first time - the problems with the first batch could be related to something I'm doing wrong, but I haven't figured it out yet.

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A recipe is declared a 'Recipe Flop' if:

1) If a recipe doesn't work twice - even after I've tried to overcome the issues 

2) A recipe doesn't produce at least 12 edible, presentable cookies; 12 cookies are the minimum required to be surveyed by one of my taste-testing groups. 

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Recipe Flops are to be expected, as many old recipes either don't stand up to the test of time or are just not going to work as written. A lot of older cookbooks are simply collected recipes and the author didn't test each and every one of them. 

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NOTE: If a recipe 'works' as written and produces cookies BUT surveys negatively by the taste-testers, it is not declared a Recipe Flop. Flavors are not for everyone, and just because the taste-testers don't like them doesn't mean everyone won't. Such a will be given a 'Bake At Your Own Risk' designation.

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