Oct 25, 2008 12:36
Let me preface this by saying I am not a baker. I can cook, oh yes, but baking is not my strong suit. For those who do neither... there IS a difference. I truly believe it is a personality thing. Cooking is looser, freer--it's an art of improvisation and interpretation. Baking, on the other hand, is an art of precision and intuition. A half-teaspoon too little or too much can completely ruin a recipe, and it's not like you can just make it up as you go along. Since I can't leave well enough alone and I don't really like being told what to do, I do much better with cooking. That's not to say that bakers are rigid and can't think for themselves, oh no (hence the intuition part). But I do think that the two mediums require different personalities.
Anyway. Like I was saying. I'm not a baker. But I had a pretty icky week. I only worked 3 days, but it felt like 30. (I think it's probably because I'm PMSing, but that's neither here nor there.) I was supposed to go down and visit Chris this weekend, but he cancelled on me at the last minute. So I decided to try my hand at molasses cookies, because I needed some comfort. I mixed the batter last night, stuck it in the fridge, and this morning rolled it into sticky little balls (heh) and plopped 'em in the oven.
They're not pretty, but holy shit. They're GOOD. I subbed butter for the margarine (because WTF? What baking recipe SPECIFIES margarine? That's just not right) and used dark molasses, and ohhh my goodness. Mmmmm. Spicy and smoky and earthy and chewy, just like a molasses cookie should be. I need to get these things out of the house before I eat both dozens all by myself.