How do you write your own recipe?

Question

I'm trying to find out how you would go about making your own recipes, like for cookies. How do you know how much of everything to use and so on?

Answer 1

after you have done a lot of cooking

you just know what will work and taste good and what won't

till you learn, just use the recipe on the chocolate bits

Answer 2

I usually make a recipe the way it is called for. Once I make it, I change it in various ways to suite my taste. Thus, it is now my own recipe. For example, if it calls for milk, I may choose to use sour cream, cream cheese, a heavy cream. Or instead of vanilla, I may choose to use a bourbon. Instead of a particular fruit or nut, I may change them. Also looking in the back of some cookbooks there is a section for substitues. This can easily be used to help in making your own recipes. Use your taste buds and your creativity !

Answer 3

As mentioned, usually you'll need to learn how to make cookies *in general* (or meats, or veggies, or whatever) before you begin to make up your own versions.

With baking in particular, there's a little more precision involved because you *have* to add certain things to make them rise, etc. (where many foods can be cooked by just applying heat... no additives necessary). The proportions of those added things can make a big difference in baking too.

So, if you want to make your own cookie recipes, I'd suggest first just following some recipes for the general type of cookie you want to make (cakey, heavy, bar, meringue, etc.) or recipes for the types of ingredients you want to use for flavoring (oatmeal, chocolate chips, lemon, etc.).
Once you begin to see the general proportions of flour to baking powder, or salt, or sugar, for example, (as well as how to mix and bake), you can begin to substitute various flavorings or additions for each other.
Some substitutions would be easy though right from the beginning... for example, if a cookie recipe called for chopped walnuts, you could use pecans or other nuts instead; if it called for dried blueberries, you could use other dried fruits, or use a mixture, or eliminate them.

That would be true for other foods too . . . so, if you wanted to make up your own marinades, for example, you'd follow a few recipes for them, and in doing that probably discover that they're generally comprised of certain basic ingredients:
an acid (vinegar, lemon juice, wine, etc.), an oil of some kinds (though actually that's optional), and often some flavorings too (spices, herbs, fruits, garlic, etc.).

Then you could make up your own marinade by picking balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garlic plus oregano, for example...or picking orange juice, sesame oil and ginger plus soy sauce... or any other things you could plug in instead. You could also change the proportions if you wanted (whereas for some baking, you can't change proportions of some ingredients much or the results will be too flat, or dry, etc.).


Diane B.

Answer 4

i,m afraid experimenting is the only way. try and replicate found recipes with different produce.

Answer 5

here are some ideas