I then sprinted to our kitchen to inspect our old convection oven, and with the help of ChatGPT (please don't judge me) I was able to identify that our oven had a knob that can be adjusted from the toaster setting we’ve only ever used it for to the bake setting. Bake setting??? I had an oven I can bake with all this time and I just found out all because I’ve been seduced by a box mix cake recipe!

So I bought a yellow cake mix along with all the other ingredients and made my very first cake. My dad, sister, and brother-in-law said it was so good that it was as if it wasn’t my first time baking. According to my partner and his family who has been to the aforementioned cafe and has tried their tres leches cake, they said mine virtually tasted just as good.

Whether my loved ones only meant to flatter me or I did in fact have undeniable natural talent, I had to put my baking skills to the test with none other than the universal favorite that is the classic chocolate chip cookie. Apparently, there were countless candidates to the so-called “best cookie recipe”, and so I spent several days and so much money building my baking inventory that summer testing different recipes. Thankfully prior to all that, I ca me across a YouTube short of an infamous Australian bakery owner (Brooke of Brookie Bakehouse) demonstrating how to create a single jumbo chocolate chip cookie. I then realized that baking, just like every other form of cooking and food preparation, involves scaling ingredients up or down depending on the total amount of servings you want the recipe to yield.

So again, with the help of ChatGPT doing all the baking math for me, I was able to scale down the ingredients in the various cookie recipes I found online ‘til I found my favorite one — all whilst saving a lot of time, energy, ingredients, and precious kitchen and fridge space because I didn’t have to whip up half a dozen cookies like how most baking recipes are written. I’ve since started making cookies in different flavors, and I’m proud to say they’ve been a hit to everyone I’ve given them away to.

I’ve already been asked too many times if I’ve considered selling my cookies and starting a baking business since I enjoy doing it so much and I do it quite well. I always say to never say never, but as it stands, baking is just a hobby for me, and I intend to keep it that way for a long time. It would no longer be hobby but a hustle if I start monetizing it. And besides, the very act of baking, tasting my own creations, and seeing other people enjoy them too is beyond fulfilling that putting a price tag on it is the last thing I want to do — at least not anytime soon.

And now with this website, I also get to share my favorite cookie recipes that I never intended to be ”my secret recipes” in the first place.

Whether you’re a newbie or a superb baker in your own right, I hope you’ll find a recipe here that you can easily follow and requires few ingredients when you’re craving for a Little Sweet Something.