I made my third batch of soap a week and a half ago--crock pot hot process coffee cocoa soap. I didn't like the smell when it was first unmolded--it smelled kind of earthy to me, which is a smell I'm not fond of. After the soap sat for over a week the earthy smell has dissipated and it smells better. The soap is harder, too.
I guess this one of those things you have to learn for yourself--as soap buddy said "it still needs to cure. There is no shortcut". Yep, I had to learn for myself that any soap needs to cure. I have decided to try cold process and get more creative. As agonizing as it will be to wait for the soap to cure I will just have to stick it out.
I'm still unclear though about my original question about turning cold process recipes into hot process recipes. Do I do everything the same--measurements of ingredients, etc. and then just cook it when with cold process I'd pour it into the mold? Is that how to make a CP recipe into a HP recipe? Sorry for the redundancy. I'm still trying to learn!