🐿️Pinecone Attack

c/baking-fails-and-wins

21

nora_wells58•14d ago

Spent $40 on a fancy silicone baking mat and it ruined my cookies

I bought a name brand silicone mat last month from a kitchen supply store in downtown Portland. The package said non-stick and reusable, but my chocolate chip cookies spread out into one giant thin sheet. I followed the recipe exactly like I always do. Has anyone else had trouble switching from parchment paper to those mats?

19

carter.julia•14d ago

Vent: Tried to make my grandmother's apple cake recipe and it turned into a flat disc

I got out her old recipe card last Sunday. The one she wrote in pencil like 40 years ago. I followed everything exactly. 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, but I think my baking powder might be old because the cake barely rose. It came out maybe an inch tall and super dense. My kitchen smelled amazing but it was a total disaster. Has anyone else had a family recipe just completely flop on them? What did you do?

12

anderson.spencer•15d ago

That fancy sourdough starter guide was completely wrong for me

I followed a popular blog's method for 3 weeks and got nothing but grey sludge. Switched to a 50/50 rye and water ratio just keeping it on the counter and had bubbles in 4 days. Has anyone else had a "pro" recipe totally backfire like that?

3

ivan873•15d ago

Shoutout to that Pillsbury crescent roll that exploded in my oven last Thanksgiving

Ever since my aunt's stuffing got blasted with molten butter at her house in Phoenix two years ago, I've always pre-poke holes in the seams before baking, has anyone else had a can pop off on them?

29

the_miles•15d ago

Spent $40 on a silicone baking mat and it saved my cookies from a total disaster

I tried making a batch of chocolate chip cookies last night and my old parchment paper kept sliding off the tray. I had bought this mat from Target a few weeks ago and finally gave it a shot. The cookies came out perfect, no sticking or burning on the bottom like usual. Has anyone else had good luck with those mats or do you still swear by parchment?

-1

casey943•16d ago

Just realized my oven runs 25 degrees hot after 3 years of baking

I was at my neighbor's house last Saturday and she mentioned she always bakes stuff 25 degrees lower than what recipes say. I asked why and she said her oven runs hot. I went home and tested mine with a $10 oven thermometer. Turns out mine has been running 25 degrees hot for the 3 years I've owned it. Has anyone else found a big temperature difference with their oven and how did you adjust?

-1

elliots49•18d ago

Found out my grandma's cookie recipe is actually from a 1950s margarine ad

I was cleaning out my mom's attic last weekend and found an old magazine from 1954. Flipped through it and there it was, the exact same 'secret family recipe' for sugar cookies we've been making for generations. It was a full page ad for Parkay margarine with the instructions verbatim. My grandma always told us she invented it herself and never wrote it down. Kind of funny but also a little weird knowing I've been bragging about her 'original' cookies for years. Has anyone else found out a family recipe wasn't really from the family?

28

the_cora•18d ago

My neighbor's sourdough starter smelled like acetone so I tossed mine too fast

Last month I was over at my neighbor Carol's place in Oak Park. She pulled out her sourdough starter and it smelled like nail polish remover. She said it was ruined and threw it away. I panicked and went home and threw mine out too. Then I looked online later and found out that acetone smell is normal sometimes, especially if it's hungry. I wasted a starter I had kept alive for almost a year. Has anyone else thrown away good starter because of a smell that turned out to be fine?

27

holly_young35•22d ago

Made my first sourdough loaf that didn't look like a hockey puck

I have been trying to bake sourdough for about 8 months now and nothing ever came out right. Last weekend I visited my aunt in Boise and she showed me how to properly feed my starter every 12 hours instead of guessing. That one change made the dough actually rise in the bowl. It still came out a little flat but it actually had air pockets inside and I almost cried. Has anyone else had trouble with their starter going dormant?

13

reese550•23d ago

My sister swore her sourdough starter needed honey not sugar

She kept telling me to swap honey for sugar in my feeding routine. I ignored her for 2 months because I thought sugar was fine. My starter barely bubbled until I switched to raw honey last week now it doubles in 6 hours flat. Has anyone else had a starter act totally different based on the sweetener?

11

anthony883•24d ago

Tried a 3-tier cake for my sister's wedding and watched the middle layer slide off

I was at my apartment in Austin last Saturday, attempting a lemon raspberry cake for my sister's reception. The bottom tier was 10 inches, middle was 8, and top was 6. I used cheap cardboard rounds and forgot to chill the ganache between stacking, so the middle layer just slid right off onto the counter after 20 minutes. Had to scrape everything down, made cupcakes instead, and they actually turned out fine. Anybody else had a cake collapse right before a big event?

18

brooke533•25d ago

Had to choose between butter and shortening for my grandma's sugar cookie recipe

I went with butter because I figured better flavor mattered more, but they spread way too thin and came out like crispy discs instead of soft cookies. Has anyone else tried swapping half and half or is that just a myth?

21

cameron770•26d ago

TIL that my failed macarons were actually a humidity problem, not a technique problem

I had been making macarons for about 6 months and they kept coming out with no feet or hollow shells. I tried everything, different meringue methods, aging egg whites, sifting almond flour three times. Nothing worked. Then my neighbor who used to work at a bakery in Portland told me to check the humidity in my kitchen. I bought a cheap hygrometer for $12 and found out my kitchen was averaging 65% humidity. Once I started running a dehumidifier for a few hours before baking, my macarons came out perfect on the first try. Has anyone else run into this issue with other baked goods like meringue cookies or angel food cake?

25

ryan653•26d ago

Spent six hours trying to get my sourdough starter to double in size before I realized my kitchen was too cold at 62 degrees

Moved it to the laundry room where it stays a steady 76 degrees and it finally doubled in four hours flat, anyone else struggle with temperature way longer than you should have?

24

casey943•26d ago

My great grandmother's pound cake recipe turned into a pancake last week

I've been making this same recipe for 10 years, but last Tuesday it came out flat as a pancake. I used all the same ingredients my mom gave me - 3 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 6 eggs. Walked away for 2 minutes while the mixer was running and it splattered butter all down my cabinets. Has anyone else had a tried-and-true recipe just fail for no clear reason?

19

calebrivera•27d ago

My first sourdough starter died after I left it in a cold car overnight

I was visiting my sister in Philly last winter and brought my starter along to bake at her place. Forgot it in the car during a 20 degree night and woke up to a frozen, cracked jar on the passenger seat. Tried to revive it with warm water and feedings but it just smelled like old gym socks after three days. Ended up tossing it and starting from scratch back home. Anyone else ever killed a starter in a dumb way like that?

1

xena_williams•27d ago

Tried butter vs shortening in my pie crust last weekend and the butter blew it out of the water

The shortening crust came out tough and bland while the butter one was flaky and rich, has anyone else had that same result with holiday pies?

12

maryadams•28d ago

Discovered the hard way that room temperature eggs matter more than I thought

I tried making a chiffon cake with cold eggs straight from the fridge (because I was impatient) and it came out flat and dense. Learned that cold eggs don't whip up properly for that airy texture. Has anyone else ruined a cake by skipping the temp check?

13

ivangrant•28d ago

Took me 6 months to figure out my pie crust wasn't chilling long enough

Kept getting soggy bottoms no matter what. Switched to a 2 hour chill instead of 30 minutes and it finally worked. Anyone else miss obvious stuff like that?

6

the_sarah•29d ago

My grandma's sourdough starter secret changed everything last Saturday

I was over at my grandma's house helping her clean out her pantry and she pulled out this mason jar with a starter she's had since 1987. She told me she feeds it with pineapple juice instead of water once a month and that's why it never goes bad. I tried it on my own starter that was getting sluggish and within 2 days it was bubbling like crazy. Has anyone else ever heard of using fruit juice in a starter?

29

umamoore•29d ago

The lemon tart that turned into lemon soup

I was making a lemon tart for my sister's birthday in my tiny kitchen, and I forgot to chill the butter before mixing it into the crust. By the time I pulled it out of the oven, the filling had leaked everywhere and looked like a weird yellow puddle... still tasted okay though. Has anyone else had a crust disaster like that?

19

lisa_wilson87•1mo ago

So about that whole 'cream butter and sugar by hand' thing...

I always thought using a stand mixer was the only way to get fluffy cookies, but last weekend I tried creaming by hand for a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Used a wooden spoon for 8 minutes straight and the texture was way better, less airy and more chewy. Has anyone else noticed a difference switching methods?

4

rivera.susan•1mo ago

My $45 silicone rolling mat was a total waste of money

I bought this fancy silicone rolling mat from a kitchen supply store last month thinking it would save me from sticky dough disasters. Cost me $45 which felt like a lot but I figured it would last forever. First time I used it for a sugar cookie recipe the thing slid all over my counter no matter what I did. I tried wetting the counter underneath and that helped a little but not enough. Then I baked the cookies right on the mat like the package said and the bottoms came out weirdly hard and uneven. The mat also picked up this funky smell after three bakes that I can't get out. Now I'm back to using parchment paper which costs like $3 a roll. Anyone else have better luck with those baking mats or should I just toss this thing?

24

noahward•1mo ago

Vent: My meringue turned into soup halfway through baking

I was making a lemon meringue pie for my sister's birthday last Saturday and the oven temp dropped 30 degrees when I opened the door. The meringue just collapsed into a sticky, weeping mess all over the pie. Anyone else have a fix for humidity wrecking their peaks?

8

christopher_singh92•1mo ago

The way my sourdough starter changed after I moved across town

I had that starter going for about three years in my old apartment near downtown Denver. It was reliable, bubbly, and made decent bread every time. Then I moved to a place on the south side about six months ago. The first two loaves came out flat and dense, and the starter took forever to rise. I figured it was the water, so I switched to bottled for a bit, but that didn't help much. Turns out the temperature difference was the real issue - my old kitchen sat around 72 degrees year round, but this one drops to 65 at night. Once I started keeping it on top of the fridge, it perked right back up. Has anyone else had their starter act weird after a move?