Friday, March 20, 2009

Chocolatey Trainwreck


Well, today is a little different for Gollum, she also invites pictures or stories of food disasters. Boy, do I have one for you! (Get your reading glasses on, "Brain" knows you're gonna need it if you want to read this trainwreck of a tale!)

On Sunday, March 22nd, I'm going to join Cielo of "The House in the Roses" for her cookie parade to show all of you, but since I have all thumbs when it comes to baking, it wasn't surprising that I would mess up the recipe I got from her blog!

I didn't have any bittersweet chocolate chips, so I substituted some Heath toffee bits out of a new package that hubby got from a Hershey's convention at the Phoenician Resort when he used to work there. I followed the rest of the recipe but it still looked too wet. Not thinking anything might go wrong, I refrigerated the dough for one hour and patiently waited. Fifteen minutes in, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. After it beeped, I checked on the batter, it thickened slightly so I thought, "this must be what it's supposed to look like" and proceeded to scoop it onto a baking sheet.

Well, if you must know, I am a peeker when it comes to baking. Yes, I am that unsure about my skills! I noticed that each scoop spread out like it threatened to spill off the sheet! So when the timer beeped, I quickly grabbed it out but the suckers stuck to it like it was part of it! We managed to get them all out, and in the spirit of recycling the kids ate it up and suggested that it would make a great ice cream topper! Yeah right, but one taste and I had to agree!

I left the rest of the batter in the fridge overnight and this afternoon, I tried to make Cielo another batch using another close recipe since I still don't have any bittersweet chips. I decided not to waste what was in the fridge and added more flour to it to give it body. Well... how do you think it fared?


A big second round of "YIKES!" I don't know what happened but unlike before, I caught it a little sooner and got them out while they were still softer, scraped them all off and this is the mess I collected on a plate!
Behold, I give you... "FAILURE" COOKIES!!! (My children gave it its name, lol)

Alright, alright... All you seasoned bakers can stop laughing and give me pointers for next time instead, lol! Just to let you know, I did manage to bake a great batch for Cielo's Cookie Parade, so watch out for mine, ok?

TABLESCAPING IDEAS: (This idea was inadvertently given to me by my teen's boyfriend when he joined us for dinner last night and "Brain" loved it!) Take a picture of your failed baking adventures and frame them. During a rainy day or any time you have free, make a great batch of delish cookies, bring out the picture and set it in front of you next to a beautiful floral centerpiece and enjoy laughing at your own self while you savor your success! Doesn't that sound great? "Brain" knew you'd love it!

I love that you visited with me again... and had a good laugh at the same time. Make sure to tag along as I visit others' blogs for some trainwrecks or luxury tours over their chosen edibles!

31 comments:

  1. A tablescaping, brainy, and sweet boy who shares her religion....hmm, while it is hard to imagine anyone worthy of sweet Lisa, he is definitely starting to win me over! I have made cookies just like that when I started baking years ago, and I put them on ice cream :-). I forgot to ask about it on the fam blog, but how is Ian feeling? All better I hope! I need to get busy and do something worthy of posting on my blog!

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  2. Anne, hi, how are you? Ian is feeling better! I missed you visiting me on my blogs!

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  3. One of the kids made cookies like that (my kids ae older) and I never could figure out how! I have had my share of mishaps too!

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  4. Ahhh! I've been there....but with cookies the mistakes are good to eat anyway! ~ Robyn

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  5. Susan: Me neither! I'll try it again with the right chips and see what happens...

    Robyn: I agree, the sugar and chocolate makes it worthwhile, lol!

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  6. Hi Chandy...

    Ohhh...what a funny story, not laughing at you but laughing with you, my friend! hehe!!! All I can say is, I have way too many blooper stories to choose from, I couldn't begin to pick just one for "Foodie Friday"...hehe! I'm 52 yrs. old and have been cooking/baking for a lifetime and every now & then that "blooper" fairy still visits! hehe!

    Thanks for sharing your cookie story! I'll be watching for your cookies for Cielo's party!

    Warmest wishes,
    Chari

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  7. Baking is not my strong suit either. I bet your cookies were eaten--pretty or not!

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  8. This is so funny. I posted a cookie disaster also. Unfortunately, mine was inedible lol! Kathy

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  9. Sorry your had cookie failure - at least they were edible! :D Jewel

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  10. Too funny!

    I recall baking cookies that turned out similar to that. Some of my mistakes weren't even edible!

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  11. Sad cookies...but how did they taste?
    Excited to hear you might make the trip. Just let us know. We will be talking all about it today at lunch. Looking forward to meeting Dixie. And going to the Antique/Junque Sale in New Braunfels on Saturday.(another blogger, can't remember her name right now, but I should post it on my page as well)
    Blessings, Candy

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  12. This is a wonderful food story (and food stories are ALWAYS the best, in my opinion! :-)) I often take pictures of my bloopers to show my mother, and we have the best time. Sometimes we laugh until the proverbial tears roll.

    I loved this...and I wish I had a cookie now to go with my morning coffee.
    Hugs,
    G

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  13. Thank you ladies! We are also laughing about it! The kids loved how sweet it tasted and we even snacked on it while we played "Zooreka"!

    Gollum: We do that kind of laughter quite a bit around here, too!

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  14. What a funny story! At least they still tasted yummy! That's so funny that you are a peeker! When I first started taking cake decorating classes, our instructor could tell when we'd peek at our cakes because of the way they came out of the oven. Too funny!!

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  15. Kristi: Hee, hee... I can't help it, but mainly, I turn on the light and watch on a stool for a few minutes.

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  16. We ahve all had these similar train wrecks and yet it all still seemms to go to my hips...the flavor is still there and so yummy.
    I am sure the next batch turned out delicious!

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  17. Hi Chandy,

    Good to "meet" you. I love to bake and have come to the conclusion that as long as it tastes good, I can overlook what it looks like! They look yummy!

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  18. As long as the kids will eat them, they couldn't have been a total loss. Picture perfect or not, at least they didn't go to waste! lol

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  19. They may not have looked beautiful but I'll bet they still tasted good. Maybe they'd make a great topping for ice cream ;)

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  20. Chandy this was too funny girl..I had cookie one time that became one big huge cookies and was shaped just like the cookie sheet..hugs and smiles Gloria

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  21. Hello ladies! I'm glad to know you all saw the humor in this delicious mess I made. The kids certainly didn't complain scarfing it all down! :-)

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  22. Well, as far as I'm concerned, any cookie - beautiful or not - is a good cookie. Great story! Linda

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  23. As long as they tasted ok, they're good cookies. I love the Hampton Lace flatware in the last post. Lovely, just lovely...Nancy

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  24. Hi Chandy! LOL! The cookies do not look too presentable but you know, they look good. Did you ever try using silicone baking sheets?..Christine

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  25. Chandy,
    Sorry for your cookie disaster! It is an entertaining story, and you have great pictures too! I also love your Fabulous Blog Fan award, so I am putting it on my blog. Wow my first award how exciting, thank you!

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  26. Hi Chandy! The good thing about cookies is that if all else fails, you can always eat the dough. I've NEVER had bad cookie dough! However, these sound yummy...even if not pretty. It's the taste tht counts, anyway! lol And...when I was in France, my cookies always did that and I never could understand why....Debbie

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  27. Nancy: Thank you! I love it, too! :-)

    Christine: Hello! I'll try that next time. Thanks!

    Cathy: Enjoy the award, you deserve it! Thank you!

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  28. Debbie: Thanks, I don't feel as bad anymore, lol!

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  29. Haven't been on in a while, I love the new background and logo!

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  30. Hello Audrey! No worries, anytime is a good time! :-)

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