It’s a #Tuesdaytips day, today we are going to cover recipe writing. Recipe writing isn’t hard but it is time consuming if you don’t know what your are doing, although on occasion you can make an amazing thing (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or whatever you made) and you want to share it.

To begin with start with looking at how different recipes are written. You may notice some written using grams, especially with baking, while others using tablespoons, teaspoons and measuring cups. I did cover more of this aspect in scaling vs. measuring cups, explaining which is more accurate but valid in cooking.

Second, think of your favorite sandwich, or maybe a snack or cereal. I want you to think about and list all of the things you will need which will include equipment and ingredients.

Example: Cereal

Equipment:

bowl

spoon

Ingredients:

Milk

Cereal

Okay now think about what steps needed to make your bowl of cereal. Do you put the milk first or the cereal?

Directions:

Place the bowl on the counter and pour the cereal in 1/2 way.

Then pour enough milk to just see the cereal beginning to float.

Another Example would be Chocolate Chip Cookies

Equipment

• Mixer
• Paddle attachment
• Cookie Sheet
• Medium Cookie Scooper
• Wooden spoon

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 cup Brown Sugar i do light brown but dark works as well
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 Cup Butter Unsalted and room temp
• 1 tbsp Vanilla
• 2 Eggs
• 3 cups Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 12 ounces Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup crushed walnuts optional
• 1 cup Raisins

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Start with Room Tempature Butter, using your mixer. Whip it until smooth, Paddle is best but a Whisk attachment works as well. 
• Add the cup of sugar and cup of brown sugar into the butter and mix until fully incorporated.
• Add the 2 eggs and the vanilla and continue to cream the butter, sugar and eggs
• In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt
• Add the Flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix until its all incorporated 
• Using a wooden spoon fold in the Chocolate Chips (Raisins and Crished walnuts too if you plan on using)
• Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 mins to a few hours
• Preheat the oven to 350
• Using the Cookie scoop, scoop balls of cookies, place the balls 2” apart. If you want a flatter cookie you can use your palm to lightly press the ball down
• Bake between 9-14 minutes. I find 13 minutes in my oven to be perfect. 
• Place on a cooling rack for 5-8 minutes before putting them away or enjoy them with a glass of milk

Keep on practicing with recipes/ meals you use often. As you change things note that. You can even practice on newer recipes you try and tweak them. If you want to write your own from scratch, think about what you are making, what methods you plan on using and how to make it as simple that someone who has never seen or had tried to cook. It will take several tries to perfect it and that’s okay.