'Sam' without the 'Prit'.....

To some women, cooking is second nature. A pinch of this and a dash of that, and walla, a gastronomic offering, delicious to the taste and delectable to the eye, is created.

But to me, cooking is nothing less than rocket science. For every dish that turned out alright, there were many others beyond salvage, whose trip to the bin was speedier than Speedy Gonzales.  

When a recipe calls for a cup of something, I'd begin to worry about the size of the cup and when it says a spoonful, I'd wonder about how much heap should be on the spoon.

Lack of 'air tangan' notwithstanding, that has not stopped me from experimenting. The only setback, as it were, is that failed experiments can be costly. Then again, without trying one will never learn.

Two days back I tried making 'samprit' cookies, following a recipe given by fellow blogger Lyana Mauseth. I had not baked cookies in ages (the last one must have been in the 1980s), but the recipe looked simple enough.

Then came the sticky part (to me la, not to you Kitchen Goddesses out there). The ingredients called for cupfuls of various flour; wheat flour, corn flour, custard powder.

I had no problem with the flour; it was the cup I had issues with. Big or small? Deep or shallow? Capacity? Packed, loose or heaped? I sat there in the kitchen, stumped.

There are teacups of four varying patterns and sizes in my kitchen (pixs above). Which one to use? Decisions, decisions...

After mulling over it, I decided to go with the blue & white  'solo' member, used mainly for drinking Chinese tea and green tea.

The end result is in the 'balang' up there; they look good and taste just as well. But guess what? They don't really have that unique 'samprit' taste. Instead, they come across like rich butter cookies.

Why la, when I follow instructions to the letter. Could it be the cup?