Baking cookies is a waste of time. Better to just buy them at bakery

[Anonymous]

This is how i feel about raos tomato sauce. I get it. Im not a great baker though. My cookies are crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, just venting. I just have no idea how chocolate chip cookies can come out different every time we try to bake them at home. It's not that they're awful, it's just they're sort of mediocre compared to theirs. I'm just going to use up these chips and never try cookies again. Going to support the bakery instead moving forward.

Same here. Wegmans cookies are perfect. Mine never come out right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a really odd post. I have no problems with someone buying the cookies/baked goods at a bakery. I love a good bakery as much as the next person. But, to say makes such a broad, sweeping generalization that it's better to buy cookies at the bakery, is just wrong. Sure, it's convenient and you sometimes get specialty cookies that aren't easy to make at home. But, it's also more expensive and a lot of pleasure and rituals can surround the baking of cookies.

I just did a calculation of what a base sugar cookie recipe would cost me - less than $6 for a batch without chocolate chips. You don't have to even use 'good butter'. I didn't include the cost of using the oven because it's just pennies. Nor did I include the cost of mortgage or utensils because those are sunk costs - I'd pay for them whether I made cookies or not. I also didn't include the cost of my time because it wouldn't take me any longer to bake cookies than to run to the store to get them and I'm also avoiding the cost of gas.

^^PP here. I calculated the costs using the prices on Costco's website. I didn't include the cost of salt/soda because the amounts are so small and cheap. I also use the imitation vanilla recommended by America's Test Kitchen and it's just as cheap. It's only pennies that are missing from here and not worth wasting my time to calculate.
1.17 Eggs
0.20 flour
1.67 sugar
2.25 butter
5.28 Total

Imitation vanilla? As if!

I have more confidence in ATK than an anonymous DCUM poster
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/6229-vanilla-extract-vs-imitation-vanilla

ATK is the best. Also, for OP and others who find baking cookies "hit or miss", if you do want to bake them sometimes, I highly recommend getting the ATK Family Baking Book. They really do refine their recipes very carefully and it's about as close as you can get to foolproof baking. The cookbook also has a lot of very useful tips on things like why they recommend certain brands of ingredients or tools, how to know when a bake is ready to come out of the oven, and how to troubleshoot common problems. I definitely don't consider baking cookies remotely risky and my cookies always wind up tasting pretty fantastic.

I'd buy bakery cookies too, if they were excellent and I wanted a treat without the trouble, but yes, homemade is much less expensive and very good.

Oh, and regarding butter, if you think even a high end bakery is using expensive European butter in most of their baked goods, you are insane. They are buying in bulk and while quality matters, butter is one of the THE most expensive ingredients and if you are baking for money, saving money on butter is one of the easiest ways to increase profits. They are not using better butter than you are at home, I guarantee it. They might be using lower quality butter.

PP here. I LOVE them as well! For those of you who haven't had good success with baking, I highly recommend you subscribe to America's Test Kitchen. I get the monthly magazine (Cooks Illustrated) and am on their site nearly every day. What I really like is that they often explain why a recipe works - or doesn't. Once you start understanding the whys, all of your cooking gets better. And, it's not just baking. It's everything. Rare is the time an ATK recipe doesn't work for me.

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a really odd post. I have no problems with someone buying the cookies/baked goods at a bakery. I love a good bakery as much as the next person. But, to say makes such a broad, sweeping generalization that it's better to buy cookies at the bakery, is just wrong. Sure, it's convenient and you sometimes get specialty cookies that aren't easy to make at home. But, it's also more expensive and a lot of pleasure and rituals can surround the baking of cookies.

I just did a calculation of what a base sugar cookie recipe would cost me - less than $6 for a batch without chocolate chips. You don't have to even use 'good butter'. I didn't include the cost of using the oven because it's just pennies. Nor did I include the cost of mortgage or utensils because those are sunk costs - I'd pay for them whether I made cookies or not. I also didn't include the cost of my time because it wouldn't take me any longer to bake cookies than to run to the store to get them and I'm also avoiding the cost of gas.

^^PP here. I calculated the costs using the prices on Costco's website. I didn't include the cost of salt/soda because the amounts are so small and cheap. I also use the imitation vanilla recommended by America's Test Kitchen and it's just as cheap. It's only pennies that are missing from here and not worth wasting my time to calculate.
1.17 Eggs
0.20 flour
1.67 sugar
2.25 butter
5.28 Total

Imitation vanilla? As if!

I have more confidence in ATK than an anonymous DCUM poster
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/6229-vanilla-extract-vs-imitation-vanilla

ATK is the best. Also, for OP and others who find baking cookies "hit or miss", if you do want to bake them sometimes, I highly recommend getting the ATK Family Baking Book. They really do refine their recipes very carefully and it's about as close as you can get to foolproof baking. The cookbook also has a lot of very useful tips on things like why they recommend certain brands of ingredients or tools, how to know when a bake is ready to come out of the oven, and how to troubleshoot common problems. I definitely don't consider baking cookies remotely risky and my cookies always wind up tasting pretty fantastic.

I'd buy bakery cookies too, if they were excellent and I wanted a treat without the trouble, but yes, homemade is much less expensive and very good.

Oh, and regarding butter, if you think even a high end bakery is using expensive European butter in most of their baked goods, you are insane. They are buying in bulk and while quality matters, butter is one of the THE most expensive ingredients and if you are baking for money, saving money on butter is one of the easiest ways to increase profits. They are not using better butter than you are at home, I guarantee it. They might be using lower quality butter.

PP here. I LOVE them as well! For those of you who haven't had good success with baking, I highly recommend you subscribe to America's Test Kitchen. I get the monthly magazine (Cooks Illustrated) and am on their site nearly every day. What I really like is that they often explain why a recipe works - or doesn't. Once you start understanding the whys, all of your cooking gets better. And, it's not just baking. It's everything. Rare is the time an ATK recipe doesn't work for me.

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/

I love them too. But still not using imitation vanilla. Gross

[Anonymous]

I prefer to buy bakery sweets because I get sort of grossed out seeing first-hand all the sugar and butter good recipes tend to call for.

[Anonymous]

Speak for yourself, OP, but mine are the bomb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speak for yourself, OP, but mine are the bomb.

+1

May need to make some browned butter blondies this weekend. It’s been too long

[Anonymous]

ow can you not want warm from the oven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speak for yourself, OP, but mine are the bomb.

+1

May need to make some browned butter blondies this weekend. It’s been too long

Mmm, sound delicious!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How can you not want warm from the oven.

\

A warm cookie is so much better!

We make a batch of cookie dough, scoop blobs into a container, and put it into the fridge or freezer to bake as needed.

But I do buy Rao's sometimes. I'm not faulting anyone for wanting a shortcut.

[Anonymous]

I want to love cooks illustrated because I’m super interested in food chemistry but I often find their recipes irritating. They often involve some weird ingredient that I don’t have on hand — like “we tried 5 different acids in this recipe and found that what really made it work was …. “ I don’t plan ahead that often and don’t want to have to make a special trip to the store.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to love cooks illustrated because I’m super interested in food chemistry but I often find their recipes irritating. They often involve some weird ingredient that I don’t have on hand — like “we tried 5 different acids in this recipe and found that what really made it work was …. “ I don’t plan ahead that often and don’t want to have to make a special trip to the store.

21:33 here. I can understand that. When a weird, to me, ingredient comes up (WTF is agar or sumac?) I'll google for a substitute. If I can't find a reasonable one and I can't leave it out, I skip the recipe. There are SO many recipes to choose from that I really don't need to use that one. I just move on. What really gets me is, when reading the comments, how many people substitute so much of a recipe - it's usually someone trying to make it gluten/dairy free - and then they complain that the recipe didn't turn out. Of course your Tres Leches cake didn't turn out! You didn't use any of the milks called for in the recipe!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to love cooks illustrated because I’m super interested in food chemistry but I often find their recipes irritating. They often involve some weird ingredient that I don’t have on hand — like “we tried 5 different acids in this recipe and found that what really made it work was …. “ I don’t plan ahead that often and don’t want to have to make a special trip to the store.

21:33 here. I can understand that. When a weird, to me, ingredient comes up (WTF is agar or sumac?) I'll google for a substitute. If I can't find a reasonable one and I can't leave it out, I skip the recipe. There are SO many recipes to choose from that I really don't need to use that one. I just move on. What really gets me is, when reading the comments, how many people substitute so much of a recipe - it's usually someone trying to make it gluten/dairy free - and then they complain that the recipe didn't turn out. Of course your Tres Leches cake didn't turn out! You didn't use any of the milks called for in the recipe!

We should start a new thread with pet peeves. Mine is people who just post “looks great!” Or “can’t wait to try this!”. I don’t mind people posting variations saying whether it worked or not — one of my favorite recipes is from a comment post on an Epicurious muffin where the poster made it more healthy and more moist and kindly shared their results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bought cookies at the bakery today and when I nibbled on one while waiting in the school pickup line, they were surprisingly burnt. Exterior was too dark brown but not an obvious burnt appearance, so I can see how it could slip by. I called the bakery. They looked, acknowledged they found the overcooked batch, apologized, and said free next time I’m in. Had I burnt a batch at home they’d go in the trash and I’d be out all the costs. Buying at the bakery has no risks!

The bakery workers laugh at you. I cannot imagine showing my face at a store I called and complained about a $3 cookie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bought cookies at the bakery today and when I nibbled on one while waiting in the school pickup line, they were surprisingly burnt. Exterior was too dark brown but not an obvious burnt appearance, so I can see how it could slip by. I called the bakery. They looked, acknowledged they found the overcooked batch, apologized, and said free next time I’m in. Had I burnt a batch at home they’d go in the trash and I’d be out all the costs. Buying at the bakery has no risks!

The bakery workers laugh at you. I cannot imagine showing my face at a store I called and complained about a $3 cookie.

It was a dozen cookies. The manager acknowledged they burned a batch. But I hope you feel better now bumping this thread to troll and attack me. Bless your heart.