Let’s talk about my latest culinary adventure.
Okay, we’re diving headfirst into the kind-of-weird and maybe wonderful world of A.I. generated recipes. Yeah, robots are now dabbling in the sacred art of baking. I, your brave reporter in the field of sweet treat baking technology, decided to give one of these AI-forged recipes a try.
So I asked ChatGPT for it’s best scoop & bake sugar cookie recipe and this is what it gave me:
I decided to follow the recipe as written and the only change I made was adding some rainbow sprinkles. That’s it.
Why I chose this recipe in the first place
Because of its simplicity. You scoop up portions of dough, slap them onto your baking tray and shove them into the oven. And voila! You’re the proud owner of a fresh batch of sugar cookies.
This recipe surprised me at the end though, with having to flatten the cookies. I used my fingers instead of a spoon or the bottom of a glass. I really literally wanted it to just be scoop and bake but no big deal, it’s close enough.
My Initial Thoughts:
My first thought upon seeing the recipe was that it looks really simple and easy to make. I love that! Sugar cookies aren’t supposed to be hard anyway so this was on the right track. The ingredients were basic, the instructions straightforward; everything looked normal.
My immediate second thought was that there is a lower than normal amount of sugar. Based off of past baking experiences, I just knew that the sugar would not be enough.
My third and final thought was that I personally don’t like this much flour in my cookie recipes (compared to this amount of sugar) and I’d prefer more flavor (more salt & vanilla).
The Baking Temperature
This was perfect. Actually, undeniably perfect.
First of all I love how fast they baked. But mostly, I love that it produced these golden-kissed cookie bottoms. The sugar caramelized at the bottom of the cookie and it complexified (if that’s a word) the flavor profile a little. And it contributed to the crisp edges. I liked that.
Now what’s the verdict you ask?
As you can see these cookies are so pretty to look at (and that might even be mostly due to the sprinkles that I added) but they are lacking in flavor.
While the dough was easy to handle and roll, it was floury and dry.
Also, there is not enough sugar! And I knew it from the very beginning. That’s the very first thing I recognized when I took the first bite. They’re just not sweet enough and this affected the flavor.
I baked my cookies for exactly 10 minutes until the very edges were semi-firm, I left them on the cookie sheet for 4 minutes, then I transferred them to a wire rack to completely which took about 15 minutes. If I were to go back in time I’d bake them for 1 minute less for a slightly softer texture.
Speaking of texture, I actually loved it in these cookies; beautifully crisp and slightly chewy. Even though the flavor wasn’t all there, it was hard to stop snacking on them solely because of the texture!
Honestly, if you like crisp cookies with a touch of sweetness, then these are for you. But if you want a really good, show-stopping scoop & bake sugar cookie recipe look elsewhere because there are better recipes out there.
To conclude, this recipe wasn’t terrible at all. I know that with just a few little tweaks it can be great! And come to think of it, since the sugar amount is low and the structure is sturdy enough, they are the right base for frosting.