Perseverance

I'm going fast and furious on trying to create the perfect cookie. The skeleton is there, and so is the concept, but tweaking it and getting it just where I want to is a bit maddening, but enjoyable at the same time.

There are a lot of variables, and every recipe I'm trying is slightly different. I'm varying the amount of ingredients, the brand and type of ingredient (such as Dutch processed cocoa, vs. normal cocoa, and baking soda as opposed to baking powder), as well as varying technique. The perfect cookie is eluding me, but I am learning as I go, studying the science behind every element that goes into a recipe, and discovering how each ingredient impacts the final product.

My guides in learning are two excellent books: On Food and Cooking, by Harold McGee, and Understanding Baking: The Art and Science of Baking by Joseph Amendola and Nicole Rees. The McGee is the standard text on the science of food. His book covers all facets of cooking, while the latter book deals solely with the science involved in baking. There's an entire chapter dedicated to cookies, and how the standard ingredients in cookies work together. When I'm done, I'll tell you what I've learned. (Not that anyone gets as geeked about this as I do!)

I'm not there yet, but I hope to be. I think I'm at around my sixth batch, with the two batches I made tonight. I suspect I'll be making at least two recipes tomorrow, and maybe one Sunday evening. I've got two weeks left to figure it out.

I'm going to have a lot of cookies floating around in the freezer. Any takers?