Seven + Batches of Cookies; Measuring Flour – A Cup is a Cup is 4 oz is 8 oz?

  My Kitchen Hearth on baking day

Yesterday was a baking day at my house with my friend, Maria.  We went to town- starting before 10am and continuing up to almost 9pm – and we didn’t even finish.   We made:

Spritz

Jumbles

Orange Shortbread

Russian Teacakes

Cappuccino Kisses

Francine’s Hungarian Nut Cookies

White/Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Squares

Linzer Cookies – dough in fridge

     

  

  

  will post recipes asap!

The day flew by and we had a fun time.  Even though Maria is an accomplished cook, she thought I would be able to teach her some things about baking.

This leads me to the one and only problem of the day:  measuring flour.  There is so much emphasis on this subject in pastry school and all around the world of baking and well, we all know, the “professionals” insist on the importance of weighing.  So, I took out my trusty scale and showed Maria the difference in quantity of a measured cup of flour which she had sort of packed down a little and a weighed cup of flour.  We also talked about how 8 oz is a cup vs how 4 oz of flour is a cup debacle.  Thinking we were going to get the proper result by weighing, we started the Jumbles recipe with a weighed cup ……even I had a little trepidation about this and threw a heaping tablespoon onto what looked like a pretty meager quantity.  Bottom line was these cookies came out flat and somewhat butter laden – didn’t take anything away from the eating experience, but Maria said that when she had had these before they had more bulk to them.  So, feeling somewhat torn, I thought about this problem for awhile as we worked on – I hate to ruin a recipe and actually felt a little foolish with my cooking school “expertise”.  My conclusion – as I must have pondered this subconsciously all night – is that this is all dependent on the recipe writer –  however the recipe writer measures the flour when the recipe is created is the “right” quantity of flour.  If it is scooped and tapped, spooned and untapped or weighed…….that quantity is the quantity which should yield the proper result.  So, I guess the chefs are right – the only way to be sure to get the proper quantity is for everyone to weigh – including all recipe writers.   But, they don’t, and we still use cup measurements a lot in this country so it is trial and error.  I guess my preference is for recipes which include both a cup measurement and a weight  –  so that if you do have a scale you can weigh your ingredients and if you don’t you can use the cup.  This does not eliminate the vagaries of differences in flours (Spring and Winter), differences in gluten contents, even in all purpose flours, humidity issues, etc., etc.  All can affect outcomes and, well, I can’t go there…….

So, all this by way of saying that you may not get the result you want based on the way you measure your flour and the type of flour you happen to select in the grocery store.  Many times this will be indistinguishable in the final result  – but yesterday it wasn’t.  When you are adding other expensive ingredients to an item – as we did – dried cherries, cranberries, chocolate and nuts – this makes it pretty frustrating.  So, we will have to play around with the quantity and try to get it right.  Sometimes you can tell by the texture of the dough, but if you have never made a recipe before you just won’t know.

Anyway, all in all, it was a productive day and we yielded tins and tins of cookies!  We worked well together, chatting away and doing tons of dishes as we went along.  My new counter tops, sink and dishwasher all got a good break in and the day was productive and one of learning.  I still have other recipes to try out – hope I will get to all of the ones I want.

Lesson learned:  be aware when trying a new recipe – how you measure your flour and what type of flour you use may affect your outcomes.  But, most of the time, you will still be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor regardless (or irregardless, as Ryan would say).

Happy Baking to all!  Have to say, I think my Limoncello Snowdrops are my favs so far………..