I like how it's really only one kind of cookie, but you can dial up/down various facets of what it means to be a cookie, resulting in completely different treats.
One would probably learn a lot about cookie baking by dialing up variations and trying them each out.
BTW: you get really fun results when trying to make 1 cookie. I'm not sure I have a teaspoon small enough for that.
yeah... try measuring out a tiny fraction of an egg... not easy. When I was experimenting with small batches I used a syringe to measure out small amounts of beaten egg!
If you made and compiled videos of the steps you took along the way, especially clips of those measuring experiments, it would be an easy YouTube hit. And your site would get a heck of a lot of traffic. IANTFB (I am not the Fine Brothers)
It's probably easier and less messy to measure the egg by weight, that's how pastry chefs do it. Apparently eggs are pretty close to water in density so the conversion should be trivial.
One egg is about 50g plus or minus. If a recipe calls for one egg to make 12 cookies then some basic algebra can get you to a single cookie.
The real problem with testing a single cookie is creaming a tiny amount of sugar and butter. Even if your ratios are accurate the preparation will be somewhat different and texture will be affected. But small batch testing is the way to go to dial in ingredients for ideal cost and flavour.
Where do you live that there is one standard egg size? At the very small market down the street from me, I count 3~5 sizes in their various packages (depending on how picky you want to be about "same size")
A digital scale is game changing for baking and (to a lesser extent) cooking. I dragged my heels for years on the purchase and I absolutely regret not having bought one years ago.
Just think about how annoying measuring a cup of peanut butter is, scraping it out of the measuring cup, washing the cup.. vs just adding spoonfuls of peanut butter to a mixing bowl.
You can still bake just fine with measuring spoons and cups but you’ll be more consistent and better with the scale.
They are required for experiments. I like to add a small amount of baking soda into my banana bread for a nicer crust but if you add too much, think 0.X grams too much, then the banana bread could begin to have a vaguely pretzel-like taste.
One would probably learn a lot about cookie baking by dialing up variations and trying them each out.
BTW: you get really fun results when trying to make 1 cookie. I'm not sure I have a teaspoon small enough for that.