Cookies in hand I headed to work for yet another taste test. This time I learned my lesson and planned on babysitting the cookies to make sure it wasn’t a free-for-all. My goal this time around was to see how the two different dough, the Scottish Shortbread and the Sugar cookie held up to being frozen for a couple of weeks.

So I baked 3 dozen cookies from each of the frozen dough then made a fresh batch of each and baked 3 dozen of each of those. I wanted to see if people could taste a difference and if they did what they preferred. I got some interesting results.

Mostly everyone tasted a difference whether it was flavour of the ingredients or texture of the cookie. Hands down people preferred the shortbread made with fresh dough. However it was a draw when it came to the sugar cookies.

So the bottom line is that fresh is ultimately better when it comes to the best tasting cookie. While I would have preferred the convenience of pre-made frozen dough, I definitely don’t want to sacrifice quality.

Now that the cookie part has been decided it’s time to venture into frightening territory. Decorating!

Intro: The Great Cookie Capade

Part 1: The Perfect Cookie

Part 2: The Results are In

Wow! You offer up free samples and everyone swarms. That’s what happened when I brought my 3 cookie samples to work today. 3 you ask? Yeah I only took 3 partly because I was running out of time but mainly because I was running out of butter. So I scarified my mom’s shortbread because it was a little more finicky then the rest. I baked 60 of each and labelled them A, B, and C and left them in the lunch at my work with clear instructions to try one of each and vote which they liked better.

So what results did I get? Well the hands-down winner was the Scottish shortbread. So much so they were gone before the other two. Odd since there were equal amounts of each. Hmmmmm… Anyways, people could instantly point out the difference because of the brown sugar sweetness.

Of the other two the Basic Sugar Cookie #1 was the favourite. Again I wasn’t surprised since it contained cream cheese therefore had a smoother taste.

I’ve now frozen dough from each of those cookie choices to test their durability and taste after freezing.

What did I learn today? Most importantly is to not leave the cookies unattended. Of 60 potential votes I received 28. Darn those double and triple dippers!

Intro :The Great Cookie Capade

Part 1: The Perfect Cookie

Part 3: Fresh Vs. Frozen

I decided to pick cookies because they are on the smaller scale and since I’m learning trial by error the smaller the better. Besides it’s better to have two-dozen cookies to practice on than one or two cakes.

Finding the perfect cookie is, I think, the most important part of my endeavour. Not only does it need to taste great but it also has to hold up in the decorating department. And what better way to find out what tastes the best is to go to the consumer. My friends and co-workers are going to love me. In a blind taste test I’m going to ask people to pick between two recipes of each kind as well as their overall favourite. You can never have enough options.

I’ve picked a choice between sugar cookies and shortbread. Both cookies have a hard crunchy texture that will hold up to decorating without sacrificing flavour.

Now the million-dollar question is how will they taste? I’ll keep you posted. The following four recipes?áare my choices for test cookies.

Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe #1

Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe #2

Mom’s shortbread Recipe

Scottish Shortbread Recipe

Intro: Great Cookie Capade

Part 2: The Results Are In

Part 3: Fresh Vs. Frozen

I’ve always been artsy. In high school it was one of my best subjects. As an adult I would say it’s transitioned into being more crafty now. I paint, quilt and love to cross-stitch. But one of things about being my craftiness is that I prefer to teach myself as oppose to taking classes. This has resulted in some disastrous experiences. (I’ll never knit again!).

So as my brain starts mulling over the idea of cookie decorating and my entrepreneurial spirit joined in there is no turning back. In my fantasy world I will make beautiful creations that I’ll sell and become hugely successful. In reality I’ve never taken a decorating class before and I’d have to do it on the side of all the other things I do on the side.

Those things said I won’t know until I try and the best thing to do is start with the basics. That being the perfect cookie.

So as I venture into unknown territory I will continue to chronicle my adventures on my blog. Will I be successful? Only time will tell. But one thing is a guarantee, it’ll sure be a blast trying. A tasty one at that.

Part 1: The Perfect Cookie

Part 2: The Results Are In

Part 3: Fresh Vs. Frozen