I am alone for Christmas, and in some ways I prefer it— some peace to myself when I know everyone else is busy with their Christmas arrangements. It’s strange how excited I feel for today and tomorrow despite nothing happening that I don’t do myself. Should make more of my own holidays

This morning I made myself a fancy coffee (daterra espresso, licor 43 [shut up it’s Christmas Eve], frothed cream), cleaned my kitchen, lit a nice candle, and am now sitting down to write. Tomorrow I will open the two gifts I’ve been sent (another is on the way but stuck in customs).

Final grade:

As a copycat:
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Texture: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

I may still try this recipe one more time, using a different brand of butter, but for now let’s move on to the next recipe!

#lofthousehunt #bakesky

However they still suffer from crunchier edges despite the soft and cakey interiors. I think the next best move to make would be baking them on air bake pans, or at least light-colored sheet pans (mine are dark). Then you might be able to achieve that perfect softness all the way through.

It’s close, but I’ll try a few more before calling it quits! Haven’t decided the next source yet

Definitely have, I have a second thermometer in there to tell me the actual temp so that I don’t have to rely on whatever the oven thinks is happening. I wonder if maybe I used a different butter brand this year than I did last year? Thought the flavor was SO different

An undertaking truly about the journey as much as the destination (I say through a mouth full of too many cookies)

We press on, the calling cannot be denied 😤

Notable about this recipe: high butter content, giving us that tender crumb. Also, absolutely no almond extract (most copycats use it!), preferring vanilla instead.
Tomorrow I may try adding a tiny bit of almond to round out the flavor before baking the remaining dough.
Here’s hoping, will update!

Here are my grades for yesterdays attempt:
As a cookie:
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Texture: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (quite dry and powdery, but great for soaking up coffee)

As a copycat:
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️ really not similar except for being sweet
Texture: ⭐️⭐️ cakeyness is there, but nothing else

Amount of butter in the recipe means getting the timing in the oven correct is difficult. Did two batches yesterday baked at diff times, but both came out dry and crunchy on the edges, crumbly in the middle. Had to stop halfway thru tho, as I had a nasty headache. Tmrw I will try a lower oven temp.

Last year these came out of the oven as delicate, melt-in-your-mouth cookies with a flavor almost exact to the OG Lofthouse (texture still lacking, but that’s the hardest part to nail down). This year tho, they were very dry and flavor not at all similar. Not sure what changed :(

First, you can find the recipe here: www.seriouseats.com/soft-frosted...

I rely on Serious Eats a lot for quality recipes, especially their older stuff.

I’ve done this! The crust dough can be a messy pain. I found more success spiraling the dough/sauce/fillings into a muffin tin personally, but rolling the crust a little thicker when you do it cinnamon-roll style helps with the integrity 😄

The order of your hint is incorrect, it’s actually the reverse of what you said (numbers = letter position in alphabet, letters = reverse numbers)

Finally, here’s the link to the recipe:

sugargeekshow.com/recipe/origi...

Flavor:
The almond extract is oddly particularly strong in this cookie, even tho only 1/4 tsp is used. I’d lower it to 1/8 and maybe replace it with more vanilla.

Overall it’s a very strong contender! And a great cookie on its own.

Texture is dry/chalky on the edge, but center is very close. They only bake at 375/190 for 8 minutes, not sure any time can be shaved off.
I think these made a difference:
This recipe is one of very few that uses tartar instead of sour cream
100% cake flour over AP
Powdered sugar instead of regular