That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles.

I like to cook.
I do not like to bake.
I had this discussion with my mom last night. She's a baker and likes to make all kinds of things from scratch. I seriously love her cinnamon rolls and her apple pie is my favorite of all time. I did not inherit that gift of the love of baking. We started to talk about why.
Baking is way more exact than cooking. It's precise measurements that go in at specific times.
With cooking you can be a lot more liberal with the amounts that you put into your food. I tamper with recipes all the time and use substitutions or add something or omit when I don't like something.
Baking isn't like that. You need all the ingredients to work together to create your food.
I use a lot of recipes when I cook. If you haven't read any of my previous blogs ( shame on you ) - you should know that I search for recipes on Pinterest quite often. I also have cookbooks that I use as well, and will repeat good recipes that my family enjoys. I swear that its never the same recipe, though. I always add a little more or a little less of an ingredient based on how I am feeling that day.
Garlic? YES! I'm going to add more garlic than what that recipe calls for, I'm feeling pretty garlicky today.
Or, the recipe will call for apple juice and I will add Woodchuck instead for a little zing.

This is a recipe that I wrote down exactly what I changed on it, and what worked and we all enjoyed:

Note the splatter marks on the bottom. I use this recipe, not a lot, but frequently. We like it.

Don't get me wrong, I DO bake on occasion. I will make a box cake or muffins or even sometimes I will be daring and sometimes make things from scratch. I'm really good at making a personal brownie in a large coffee cup for when I want to eat just one brownie and I don't want the kids to know what I am eating. Yeah Yeah, sometimes I don't like to share. I usually end up sharing anyway.

Christmas is right around the corner! Yikes! I'd better get to baking some Christmas cookies, right? It's the traditional thing to do. I usually make cookies. I make some crinkle cookies, peanut butter blossoms, and I even make some Rolo pretzels. This year my husband wants me to make a Polish cookie that is a family recipe passed down from his mother. YIKES!!! Am I up for that?! As I prefaced earlier, I don't really enjoy baking and sometimes I don't always make the best confections. Am I really going to take on something that his mother has made for years and had that time to perfect these? The pressure is on. I don't want to mess it up and them be compared the ones his mom makes! ( which are awesome )
Why, or why must I make the Polish cookies this year? I wish there was a way to put my own flair on the cookies instead of baking being such an exact science. With savory foods I can create my own spin on them and change something to make it my own. With baking, I cannot. I will be trying to recreate something my husband has enjoyed for years! Years. He says they're his favorite and wants me to start making them now.
Oi Vey.
I will attempt them. I think I may google the cookie ( I have to go look up how to spell it first )
Maybe I will find a different version of them and add a little bit of my flair to them.
Or will I? Do I want to do that? It's a traditional family recipe! Do I dare tamper with tradition?
We shall see...