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Heather's Dish

Faces of Beauty

Tasty Kitchen Fail

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Come say hi to Mary on Faces of Beauty today!

 

It was bound to happen at some point.  The dreaded flat cookie problem that plagues oh-so-many people here at high altitude.  Granted, the flavor was perfection…the texture?  Not so much.

 

I’m just glad I’m not alone…

 

And to be fair this has happened before when we first moved here, but I thought I’d beat it during our first year.  Time to man up and battle the high-altitude baking monster again!

This recipe, the one that I’m NOT going to share today, I had big plans for.  It was inspired by a recipe that I found on our family’s farm, but since it didn’t turn out well (looks-wise that is) I just can’t bring myself to share it yet.  In fact I can’t even share the secret ingredient because of it all!!!

I know, I’m such a tease.

I can say that I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I forgot we had brown sugar, so I tried making my own with granulated sugar and molasses.  I think that caused the cookies to have too much liquid, something that I’ve heard is detrimental in high altitude baking.  Not something that I apparently remembered when making these, but whatever.

We’re not keeping score here 🙂

So, in light of me being lame and not sharing the recipe yet, what’s the most recent kitchen fail you’ve had?  OR any tips for high-altitude baking?  Clearly I need all the help I can get!

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Comments

  1. Lynn says

    October 21, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    I just moved to a high-altitude town and can sympathize with the adjustment. Unfortunately for me, my first plight with high altitude cooking was caramel sauce. Despite having a candy thermometer, the water cooked off FAST and soon had burnt caramel sauce. It took one blink to get aroma of burnt sugar in the kitchen. I’m just thankful I found this out before the holidays rolled around and I attempted fudge!

    I’ll be paying attention to my cookies now too- thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Kara @ MyWellnest says

    October 21, 2010 at 8:37 am

    Call me crazy, but I think they look kinda good! Like chocolate chip cookie crisps! And, they inspired me to make my own CC cookies last night!

    Reply
  3. Steph says

    October 21, 2010 at 8:16 am

    Somehow these cookies still leave me craving chocolate chip cookies from scratch…I think baking will be added to my to do list this weekend – may even trump laundry 🙂

    Reply
  4. Victoria (District Chocoholic) says

    October 21, 2010 at 7:53 am

    I lived at 7500 feet in New Mexico for about a year. Since my cookie recipe calls for neither baking soda nor baking powder, I was unable to adjust those. I added about 1 tablespoon of flour for every cup called for in the recipe. The other thing I did was let the cookies sit on the sheet a little longer so that they retian more moisture. It seemed to work.

    Reply
  5. Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum says

    October 21, 2010 at 6:41 am

    The funny thing is… there something really tasty about flat cookies. I was so bummed when my batch of cookies turned out flat, but my husband was so excited! And let’s be real – I liked them, too! 🙂 Butter, sugar, chocolate – it’s no fail!

    Reply
  6. Jean@RoastedRootsandPumpkinSpice says

    October 20, 2010 at 8:36 pm

    Well, if you don’t like the texture, feel free to send them my way because they still look delicious! I never had to bake at a high altitude before. My big flops always have to do with me trying to “healthify” baked treats and they don’t turn out too well sometimes.

    Reply
  7. Ashley says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:15 pm

    Hahaha…sorry, this is funny b/c it happened to both of us..and it make me feel a bit better. They look kind of cool though and I bet are still delicious crumbled on ice cream. 😉 So far, the best “tips” I have come across are on King Arthur’s [flour] website. Typically I up the oven 15-20*, lesson sugar 1-3T per cup, increase liquid slightly, decrease bake time, and decrease baking powder by 1/4t per 1t used. K.A. had a few more specifics! I’m hoping to give my recipe another try soon!

    Reply
  8. Natalia - a side of simple says

    October 20, 2010 at 1:34 pm

    I’m all about the soft, chewy cookies but apparently my skills aren’t, so don’t feel too bad!

    Reply
  9. Rachel @ The Avid Appetite says

    October 20, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    They still look pretty delicious to me! 🙂

    Most recently I tried to make pumpkin pie tartlets for Sunday dinner at my parents house. I burned them all! Oh, and trying to get them out of the muffin tin was no picnic either.

    Reply
  10. Mama Pea says

    October 20, 2010 at 12:36 pm

    Did you see my “biscuits” yesterday?

    Total fail. Sometimes healthy is TOOO healthy.

    Reply
  11. fabuleuxdestinbrenna says

    October 20, 2010 at 11:20 am

    HA! So weird I am about to create a post entitled “epic kitchen fail”. I had a chili fail this week. Boo. Glad yours was more successful!

    Reply
  12. Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun says

    October 20, 2010 at 11:10 am

    Those cookies look…interesting. Hey – something like that could easily come out of my oven without me even having to battle high altitudes. 😉

    I think my most recent fail was a failed attempt at cake balls. I tried making them for M’s party but I just hated them. I think I made them correctly, but the texture made me gag. So a fail for me!

    Reply
  13. Cara says

    October 20, 2010 at 10:52 am

    Living here in Colo Spgs…. I have learned that you must reduce both baking soda and baking powder by 1/4 tsp for every tsp…. and do not over beat the butter…. Trust me it works……
    I hate flat cookies!!!!

    Reply
  14. Liz @ Tip Top Shape says

    October 20, 2010 at 9:29 am

    Well….at least they look unique?? lol Glad to hear they still taste good, though. It wasn’t a complete fail!

    Reply
  15. Vicky (eat live spin) says

    October 20, 2010 at 8:50 am

    Did they at least taste good?

    Reply
    • Vicky (eat live spin) says

      October 20, 2010 at 10:29 am

      Geeze… I must have missed it in the first few lines… taste was perfect! oops!

      Reply
  16. Estela @ Weekly Bite says

    October 20, 2010 at 8:45 am

    High altitude baking would drive me batty!!

    Your cookies still look awesome to me 🙂

    Reply
  17. Nashville Nosher says

    October 20, 2010 at 8:39 am

    Those actually look good to me! Dipped in some milk or coffee…yum 🙂

    Reply
  18. biz319 says

    October 20, 2010 at 8:17 am

    I would actually love crispy cookies like that! 😀

    Scalloped potatoes and chili used to be two dishes I’ve failed over and over with.

    I am proud to say I have conquered both!

    https://mybizzykitchen.com/2010/02/06/best-buffalo-chicken-chili/

    https://mybizzykitchen.com/2010/10/12/perfect-scalloped-potatoes/ (although people told me this was a gratin, not scalloped potatoes – either way – delicious!)

    Reply
  19. LiveForTheRun says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:58 am

    Aww the high altitude baking! When I see instructions on a box for altitude I’m like “how do those people do it.” I bet these still taste AWESOME. I say you crumble and put them on ice cream….mmm.

    I burned my milk when trying to make homemade mac. We just had naked pasta, lol.

    Reply
  20. KeepItSweet says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:52 am

    those actually look good anyway:-)

    Reply
  21. Tabitha (From Single to Married) says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:48 am

    I can’t say I’ve ever had that problem. then again, I don’t live at a high altitude. 🙂

    Reply
  22. Dorry says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:46 am

    I want to eat these while drinking hot chocolate! I love all types of cookie textures. But I think I would have laughed a little when I saw them come out of the oven.

    Reply
  23. Courtney (Pancakes & Postcards) says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:43 am

    oh man. seen those before. i bet they still tasted good 🙂

    i made cheesy pasta the other day (delicious, no?) that tasted like flavorless sludge. how i messed up something as simple as cheesy pasta is beyond me.

    Reply
  24. spabettie says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:32 am

    these look PERFECT to me! 🙂 I love a thin crunchy chewy cookie !

    my latest fail has to do with what I posted about today – my vegan “burgers”… the first two tries did not hold their shape, and smooshed out of the bun!
    Still delicious, though.

    Reply
  25. lpskins says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:20 am

    I think the cookies look good!! I see flat cookies getting sold in bakeries all the time. Are they cookie fails, disguised as something wonderful? Regardless, I’m sure they tasted really, really good.

    Reply
  26. Marg says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:16 am

    I like the looks of them and they look like they taste really good too!

    I know I’ve had some, but lately it’s me not cooking chicken long enough.

    Reply
  27. jan says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:15 am

    I had the exact same problem with my cookies last night. What was I thinking? My family said the cookies were great, but too flat for my taste. I usually don’t have a problem with high altitude baking (except some fruit breads) because I go with my gut on what the batter (dough) looks like. It’s definitely not fool proof:o)

    Reply
  28. Mary says

    October 20, 2010 at 7:10 am

    You know, I have a hard time baking even just at sea level. I cannot imagine doing it where you are. I think I’d probably just give up haah! those are some flaaaaat cookies! Tasty though I bet 🙂

    Reply
  29. Judith T. Ayers says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:55 am

    My most recent blunder was thinking I could put stuffing mix in bottom of crockpot and place a pork rib roast over it, then add cream of celery soup(undiluted) and have enough moisture from roast to make up for the 1&1/2 cups of liquid to make stuffing mix moist enough.
    What a disaster!! Early morning thinking is what I blamed it on.
    It was Sunday morning and I was going to have an almost complete meal when we got home from church.
    Instead we had a beautifully done roast and burned stuffing. Oh well at least not all was lost and it didn’t take long to prepare a couple of substitue veggies.

    Reply
  30. kristastes says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:35 am

    hahah those cracked me up. They are probably still SUPER delicious! I don’t care what they look like, cookies are COOKIES. Yum yum!

    Reply
  31. Katie @ Health for the Whole Self says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:30 am

    My biggest fail (which has happened more than once!) is DRY cookies. But I think I solved the problem: I now weigh my flour on a kitchen scale instead of in a measuring cup. I think I was accidentally using too much before!

    Reply
  32. Gillian says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:24 am

    I always secretly enjoy my fails and continuously testing whether or not they’re good enough to share. Is it wrong that I think those cookies look kind of amazing?

    Reply
  33. Anna says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:23 am

    Is it weird that I actually like the way they look?! I think they kind of look dainty!

    Man…I’m a terrible baker at regular altitude, so I can’t imagine the failures I’d have at high altitude!! 🙂

    Reply
  34. Joslyn @ missfitbliss says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:23 am

    I don’t know a lot about high altitude baking, but I do have to say that the cookies still look delicious! Some of my most woeful kitchen “fails” tasted the best. I love a crispy cookie mistake;)

    Reply
  35. couchpotatoathlete says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:21 am

    I’ve made cookies that look like that — but it was because I used the wrong amount of flour!

    Reply
  36. Jessica @ How Sweet says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:06 am

    Cookies that flat are actually how my dad likes his cookies!

    Reply
  37. Evan Thomas says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:03 am

    I’ve had the same experience with shortbread this weekend. Taste great but look awful! Need to rework them.

    Reply
  38. Tracey @ I'm Not Superhuman says

    October 20, 2010 at 6:01 am

    I have a hard enough time baking at sea level, never mind way up there. They may look funny, but I bet they still taste pretty good… 🙂

    Reply
  39. Emily says

    October 20, 2010 at 5:55 am

    Yup, I’ve made plenty of cookies like that. 🙂 I stick to heavily oatmeal based cookies that don’t spread like the traditional butter-sugar-flour ones can. I’d like to get a high altitude baking book!

    Reply

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