Don't tweak the cookies, son.

Don't go tweaking anything, no ma'am.

I'm hoping a recipe for cookies will be on its way to me soon.  A genuine American recipe.  From America.

When it arrives I will follow it - to the last cup of whatever.  And this in spite of my last rambling when I suggested that men are, in so many cases, totally incapable of following a set of instructions, me included.  They ignore all that time-wasting nonsense and just get making stuff.  Now, this blog, believe it or not, is enjoying a growth in readers from the States and I also debated this on Her Majesty's facebook yesterday which prompted an American correspondent to reminisce.  

You see, I was reminded by Vicky, I think it was, that recipe tweaking is all well and good but not when it comes to baking. Tweaks and dollops simply don't cut it. Disaster is the almost inevitable consequence of a tweak.  At this point Drew from the US recalled his brother making cookies in his youth and offering him one of the final creations - and all without the use of a recipe.

I'll spare you the details but let's just say the results of Drew eating the cookie led to thoroughly unpleasant gastric issues and leave it at that. I got the impression the memory is still raw, as was the cookie. His mum - or mom, as was written - is the best cookie cook ever, apparently.  And he now cooks cookies but follows mom's recipe to the letter.  And they work every time.  He's promised me a recipe which will now involve a long conversation with his sister, the keeper of the recipes.  That's commitment for you.

I'm not a great baker.  The pampered chef catalogue has some fantastic pieces in it including a decorator bottle set - which was free to hosts recently, if I remember, and a great way to get the children not just baking but succeeeding in baking. And having fun,for goodness sake. I need to stock up on more stuff.  But equally, I need to better understand the science of baking. Fat coats gluten molecules so they can't combine as easily, and often as not, fat also contributes to the fluffiness of whatever is being made.  I do 'get it' as they say, there is some element of knowledge in my head and yet...my cakes tend be rather more solid that I would like. Maybe I just don't do fluffy?

Meanwhile I'll wait for the 'special relationship UK/US-wise' to bring forth a cookie, and when it does I'll tell you how it goes. Have a nice day.