Hello cookiers!!! Feel like giving up after a few tries achieving the perfect cookie? The frustration that comes with cooking can sometimes be unbearable….”Believe me I KNOW”. Try after try, recipe after recipe and dozens of hard to chew, sometimes tasteless cookies later……..and I wonder why I haven’t thrown in the rolling pin before now. My fellow bakers don’t give up just yet- I’ve finally figured it out!

Many times I’ve heard people say that if you can follow a recipe, you can cook. And yes…. this is (sometimes) true. However, just following a recipe alone separates mediocre from greatness! I always wondered what my grandmother meant when she would always “doctor up” a good ole box mix or recipe and her cooking was always amazing. We all know she didn’t achieve these culinary skills overnight. Listen folks, don’t be afraid to step outside the box (literally) Of course there is an art to baking! And…. there is a bit of a science to it as well (we’ll save science for another time). Using a recipe as a baseline and adding your own spin can be beautiful and did I mention “innovative”??. Tweaking any recipe is an art form of its own and if it weren’t for experimentation or curiosity I would have never known I could actually be good at this. I remember watching my grandmother as a kid bake pies & cakes. She’d add a little more of this or that…. until her creation was just about perfect. I was lucky to be able to learn from her as well as aquire some of her best recipes. Every holiday as a tradition, mom and I always bake a ton of pies. And the best part of it is…. we never use a recipe- and they turn out great every year. Ingenuity at its greatest! Adding or subtracting as you feel best, only using a recipe as a base is the best way to add your personal touch. So get out there and get creative. Good luck!

If you enjoyed this blog please check out my own recipe for key lime cut out cookies with royal icing and also my blog on tips and tricks.

Yours Truly, POC Designs