Part 1: Cooking Up a Storm

It all began with a craving for chocolate chip cookies.

I asked ChatGPT:

Write a recipe for chocolate chip cookies

You probably already have a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I didn’t. (My writing is a lot better than my baking.)

In case you do need a recipe, ChatGPT gave me this traditional one that doesn’t go too extreme on the crispy-to-cakey spectrum:

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips.
7. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, drop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
9. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Enjoy!

Note: You can make dough in advance and keep in the fridge for upto 3 days before baking.

That last note reminded me of the time a dear friend gifted me some cookie dough. This friend is painfully familiar with my culinary “skills,” having barely survived my attempt to make vegan spaghetti.

That got me thinking: Could ChatGPT successfully vegan-ify this recipe?

I went for it:

Edit recipe to be vegan

In a matter of seconds, ChatGPT spat out a revised recipe. My friends have since vegan-vetted this, so sharing in case anyone needs a recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies:

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup vegan butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tablespoons water)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups vegan chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate large mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
4. Beat in the flax eggs, then stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.
6. Fold in the vegan chocolate chips.
7. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, drop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
9. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Enjoy!

Note: You can make dough in advance and keep in the fridge for upto 3 days before baking.

Part 2: Stirring Up Trouble

My body was nourished, but what for my soul?

Poetry. I needed poetry.

Since Shakespeare and Plath and all the greats don’t write enough about food, I turned to ChatGPT once more:

Write ode to vegan chocolate chip cookies

Quoth the chatbot:

Oh vegan chocolate chip cookies, how sweet and divine
Your chocolate chips, so rich and divine
You are the treat that makes my heart sing
A guilt-free pleasure, a delicious thing

With flour, sugar, and vegan butter,
You come together, oh so much better
Flax eggs, a perfect substitution
No animals harmed, in this delicious creation

Baked to perfection, golden and crisp
Your aroma, my senses, it does twist
A bite into you, a symphony of flavors
My taste buds, forever, it will favor

You are the treat that I can’t resist
A vegan treasure, that I can’t miss
You are kind to the earth and all its creatures
Vegan chocolate chip cookies, my heart, you’ll always treasure

Oh vegan chocolate chip cookies, how sweet and divine
You are the treat, that’s always on my mind.

I love ChatGPT.

This poem isn’t amazing from a technical standpoint. Some low-hanging fruit: The word “divine” gets a bit stale (pun intended) and there are more slanty rhymes than straight rhymes here.

The most significant issue is AI’s capacity to write poetry effectively. To be clear, ChatGPT is better at constructing technical elements (rhyme and meter) than most people are. But poetry is bigger than mastering iambic pentameter.

Poetry is the medium of raw human feelings — a weak point for AI, which does not experience emotions the way humans do. It can only repeat combinations of expressions in an attempt to convey emotions. This means that even though ChatGPT intends to emote joy in this poem, it doesn’t feel the most — dare I say? — organic.

Here’s the thing, though: “Ode to Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies” is not a serious prompt.

ChatGPT doesn’t know this, so takes this not-so-serious prompt very seriously.

The cookie may not be golden, but the resulting poem sure is.

“Ode to Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies” was the first poem to come from this cookie thread. But it was not the last.