The Test Cookie

The other day the WBH came home and said, "I talked about your grandma at work today." The grandma to which he refers is my Grandma W., my mom's mom. She was a great woman, a marvelous baker, and she loved to feed people more than anything.

Grandma's been gone for almost a decade now, so I was curious how it was that she came up in conversation.

Jeff went on to explain that someone had implemented an entire project without testing. They discovered after the fact that there were problems with computer access that prevented the right people from getting to the data they needed.

He told his colleagues that they should have heeded the wisdom of my Grandma: "Always make a test cookie."

I had to chuckle.

You see, my Grandma W. was a fantastic baker, and she always, always, ALWAYS made a test cookie. She would put one cookie on a sheet and bake it to see if any adjustments needed to be made before she made the whole batch. Did she need more flour? More butter? A hotter or cooler oven? No doubt this little experiment was one of the keys to her success in the kitchen.

Grandma was one smart lady.

It turns out that the test cookie is a pretty good philosophy for life, too.

While you can't always make a test cookie, you probably should whenever you can. Because it helps guarantee great results in the end.

And if worse comes to worse, the test cookie will tell you when it's time to scrap the batch and start over.