The Rules of a Recipe Well-Written

Over the weekend, in between fighting the sniffles and having my nose feel all "stubbed ubp" I got a hankerin' for some blueberry muffins. But I didn't want to go through the trouble of making actual muffins - cleaning those individual little tins is no fun. So I thought I'd try a recipe in my cast iron skillet.

I know biscuits are often made in a cast iron skillet and muffins have similar properties, so off I went in search of a recipe that looked good.

Maybe it was the sinus medicine, but I apparently wasn't on top of my recipe analysis game when I came across a yummy-looking photo, did a quick scan of the ingredients - yep I had everything - and decided to give it a whirl.

As I started to follow the steps, I realized the recipe wasn't exactly, well... written for other people to use. I know when I write recipes for just myself, I often write using personal abbreviations. And I'll also write notes on recipes I tear out from magazines or print from the internet with things I added of my own. I think that blueberry muffin skillet cake recipe I found online was like that.

I'm certainly not one to call out anyone else on bad writing (we're all developing at our own rates and some might suggest that would be the pot calling the kettle black; so I'll leave that there). You'll see no links to the original here, but there were some things that made me think, and helped me understand that as a blogger, it's important to make sure my recipes are written for others to reproduce. Here are a few things I learned:

1. Exact Ingredients: Some recipes I've come across online list ingredients but then also provide a number of alternatives well beyond "butter or margarine." The recipe in question suggested melted butter or coconut oil or another cooking oil the reader wanted to use. The flavors, textures, cooking temperatures and the way various fats interact with other ingredients can be vastly different. When I post a recipe I'll share exactly what I used.
2. Order of Appearance: Also when listing ingredients, I promise to list them in order of usage in the recipe that follows. Nothing is more confusing than thinking you forgot to add something only to find it hasn't been called for yet. 
3. Exact Amounts of Ingredients: Does the recipe call for 1 1/2 cups of blueberries or 2 cups? Oh, either will work? Really? Should I use 1/4 cup of sugar or 1/2 cup? Either is fine there, too? Not exactly. Again, the results will be different and unless there is an ingredient to your taste or used as a garnish, or I've tested the recipe both ways, I'll provide the exact amounts of everything.
4. Description of Anything Unusual: The recipe I used called for a full TABLESPOON of baking powder. Yikes... that's a lot. I know muffin and biscuit recipes use a lot of baking powder, so I went with it. The final result provided the right rise and texture, but the flavor, almost predictably, was "tinny" and certainly off to my palate. It wasn't bad enough to trash, but it wasn't good enough to share the recipe, either. If I ever use an ingredient that has an unusual flavor or seems to be an odd amount, I'll explain it as well as I can. Or if YOU try a recipe that I post that tastes off or odd to you, I'd hope you'd please share that and what you think went awry.

It's too bad the flavor didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. The photos look pretty good.  I even drizzled some lemon juice and confectioner's sugar glaze over the top. When I get the recipe in a condition that it's ready to share, I'll post an update. But until then, sorry... I won't break my recipe-writing rules.