A Bouquet of Flours

A Bouquet of Flours  


For you on Valentine’s Day, I have a bouquet of flours. When I began my cooking journey I had no idea that there were so many different kinds of flour. Oh sure, I could read the bags. All Purpose flour I pretty much figured out. You could use it for anything. Cake flour I didn’t buy since my cakes all came in their own boxes with nice pictures on the front. Bread flour I started buying when I got my first bread machine, and whole wheat stayed right there on the shelf at the store. If it was too heavy to carry then it was too heavy to eat. I have rules.

But I have learned that it goes way beyond that too. I have started listening to cooking podcasts and learned a lot more about my flours. Did you know that even among the common types of flour that you can buy in the grocery store, they differ from one part of the country to the other? For instance, flour in the south contains more starch than anywhere else. Also flours in the north east have more protein. I don’t know what my flour in California is compared to the rest of the states, but I figure this may be why I can follow a recipe EXACTLY and still have it come out different than Paula Deen’s does. She has more starch!

I also learned that a lot has to do with the way that flours are measured too. If you scoop your measuring cup into the bag and then level it off, you can end up with about 5 ounces of flour. However, if you gently scoop it out with a spoon and put it into your cup, then level it off, you will end up with more like 3.5 ounces. That’s a big difference when you are making a batch of cookies. My boss has an old recipe for biscuits that has been passed down in her family for several generations. In it, it calls for 3-4 handfuls of flour. We compared hands one day. Hers are very tiny, petite hands, and mine, well, are not. So how much flour is that? I guess the pioneers had to learn that one too. I previously stated that my ex- made better cookies than I did. He is a scooper and I am a spooner. So no matter how much extra flour I put in, it still wasn’t as much as the extra he was putting it. Now it all makes sense. It wasn’t me. It was the flour!

Many people have advised me to practice, practice, practice. Now with this new information, I am armed with I feel like I have more of a fighting chance. Cooking (at least baking) is like a science. All of the ingredients have to work together, in the right proportions.

Wonder what else I can learn?

Happy Valentine’s Day. Or as one of my daughter’s friends texted her today, Happy Single Awareness Day!



Enjoy!

Lori Sinclair

Psalm 23:6 "...my cup overflows."

http://www.sinclairinkspot.com/

You can find me on my web site, Facebook, MySpace, Classmates, Shoutlife, Yahoo, or Twitter.

Bionote: Lori is the author of three business books, numerous church skits, and several articles. She lives in Sacramento with her two children, two dogs, and cat. She loves to hear from her readers, so please email your thoughts and questions.

One Smart Cookie!

One Smart Cookie!


So apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks! And, as much as I hate referring to myself as an old dog, I have to say thank you to all my readers. I asked for some help finding a great cookie recipe, and all I can say is WOW! Not only did you come through with some great recipes, but I also got an entire list of things that go along with it. First I have to say that the Nestle’s Tollhouse cookie recipe was the most highly recommended. Above that, there were some oatmeal recipes, peanut butter, and I am still waiting for my niece to send me her “out of this world lemon squares” as soon as she is done with her homework. I plan on trying each and every one of them, but one thing that I learned is that it is not all about the recipe.

I got some good tips as far as the recipes go. Almost everyone agrees that you need to double the vanilla - always. One person said to use half again as much almond flavoring too. That one sounded good. We seemed to be equally split on the real butter vs. margarine people. And, the most interesting tip was to add an envelope of instant pudding mix to the dry ingredients. Several people came up with this. They also even suggested using different flavors to change the flavor of the cookies. I am definitely trying that one.

Moreover, I also need to:

Bake them for the minimum amount of time (I am good at doing the minimum amount required);

never leave the kitchen, they must be watched closely like children; (my children are grown, I’m beyond this now. This could be part of the problem.);

use air pillow pans (pillows make me sleepy. I could be in danger of a spontaneous nap);

use only salted butter (there goes my blood pressure);

use only dark brown sugar;

bake them on parchment paper (paper and fire - not a good idea to me);

use only wax paper to cool them - no racks (what’s a rack?);

take out a minute early, but leave on the hot pan to carryover cook for the last minute;

practice makes perfect, try them over and over again (this should add a good 20 pounds);

buy an oven thermometer; (here’s an idea.)

clean your oven (I gotta tell ya, this one really sucks);

rotate my trays (I’ll leave that one alone);

melt the butter first (hmmm);

use half butter/half shortening (which half?);

cookies should be placed on either brown paper bags or paper towel after removal from the oven

refrigerate the dough before baking (first I’m melting, now I’m cooling. I’m feeling little schizophrenic);

make bar cookies, they’re easier (you read my mind);

add an extra 1/4 - ½ C flour to the recipe (my ex- always did that, but I think it was a lot more than that. He’s an over-achiever.);

use only fresh baking soda (this should probably go for all ingredients);

bake at 300 degrees for longer (straight from the Mrs. Fields recipe book);

remove from the pans right away (contradiction from another reader, not sure which way to go here);

bring the eggs down to room temperature (and pray they don’t hatch);

cream ingredients by hand (probably get carpal tunnel now);

always sift the flour (don’t have a sifter thing either, can you get them at the same place as a thermometer?);

use a scoop instead of a spoon for uniformity (I say individuality is refreshing);

watch the timer, critical;

Ask Alton on that Food TV-thingy (I do but he never answers me);

And, last but not least: Have Fun.

Two things I learned here. One, baking is kind of a science. All of the ingredients have to work together like an experiment. If you mess with part of it (like temperature, etc.) then the cookies won’t work. And second:

Have fun. Who cares if they aren’t perfect? I don’t. God certainly doesn’t. He knows me too well by now. I will never be perfect, and am so very grateful that I am not expected to be. That would end badly. More than one person suggested buying some cookies, putting them on a plate and pretending like I had made them. That has definitely been my style up until now. In today’s harried world, that is the preferred cookie acquisition method of my home. But I think I’d really like to learn this. My own daughter even showed me up two days ago with some amazing double chocolate (white and milk chocolate) chip cookies. Thanks, Kelly. So, I am going to set aside some time for me to practice and become:
One Smart Cookie!

Hebrews 12:2: He is he author and perfecter of our faith.

NIV
Enjoy!


Lori Sinclair

Psalm 23:6 "...my cup overflows."



www.SinclairInkSpot.com

You can find me on my web site, Facebook, MySpace, Classmates, Shoutlife, Yahoo, or Twitter.



Bionote: Lori is the author of three business books, numerous church skits, and several articles. She lives in Sacramento with her two children, two dogs, and cat. She loves to hear from her readers, so please email your thoughts and questions.

A Perfect Cookie...Not!

I don’t make good cookies. My ex- does. Maybe that’s part of the reason he’s an ex- . I couldn’t stand the competition. And what confuses me more about the whole thing is that he puts twice as much flour into the recipe as it calls for, then bakes it for less time. It’s not like they come out raw, either, dough is always moist. These cookies are soft and moist, and completely cooked. They don’t deflate into a flat disc of uncooked dough when he takes them out of the oven. They are still cookie shaped when they are cool, and still good to eat the next day. I don’t know how he does it.
I’ve tried and tried but can’t figure out what the problem is. Well at least part of the problem anyway. I made some chocolate chip cookies one day. I didn’t hear the timer and they stayed for an extra minute or so... or so... or so. They were a little brown on the bottom... ok, black. I didn’t want to throw them away because it is wasteful to throw away food. “Think about all the starving kids in Peoria”, I could hear my mother say. So, I gave them to our dog, Lucy. She growled at me. Me! Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. This is a dog that would eat raw onions and dill pickles off the floor if you dropped them. That was it. That day I decided to go on a mission to find the best cookie recipe in the world. I have looked far and wide for the perfect cookie, and this is what I have found. Nothing... nada... zip. I am convinced that not a single cookie recipe exists that I am capable of making perfectly.

So now it is time to call in some troops. I need some recipes. I need something that can be done on a budget, (not costing $100.00 a cookie). I need something that can be done in a few minutes, and something that is tasty. Above all, I need something that I can actually do. I have invested in a new kitchen timer, so we are ready on that front. So, I am asking all of my faithful readers to send me their favorite cookie recipes in the hopes that I can learn to make the world’s best cookie.

Are you up for the challenge? Email it to me with directions, or tell me where I can go to find it. I will publish the results as I try each one. I would like to thank you all in advance, and ask that those of you in the Sacramento area to have the Fire Department on speed dial. We are in for a ride.

Waiting anxiously...

~Lori Sinclair
Psalm 23:6 "...my cup overflows."
http://www.sinclairinkspot.com/

You can find me on my web site, Facebook, MySpace, Classmates, Shoutlife, Yahoo, or Twitter.

Bionote: Lori is the author of three business books, numerous church skits, and several articles. She lives in Sacramento with her two children, two dogs, and cat. She loves to hear from her readers, so please email your thoughts and questions.