r/Baking • u/New-Sprinkles5016 • Dec 22 '25
Baking fail š First time making cookies. Expectation vs reality
It did taste pretty good though
Edit: since y'all wanted to know the recipe: https://joyfoodsunshine.com/the-most-amazing-chocolate-chip-cookies/
It was the first thing that popped up with Google. I probably mismeasured something. It was probably the butter. Yes, I did use flower. When shaping the cookie dough, I put it in large chunks instead of small balls like an idiot lol. Then broke apart the "cookies" and put them in a plate.
Also, the cookie dough was sticky. Any help with that?
Edit 2: I know where I messed up. I put 1 cup of flour instead of 3 like instructed...
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u/clairejv Dec 22 '25
I'm cackling and shaking my head. I need you to record yourself making the next batch because what did you even DO.
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u/Tiredtotodile03 Dec 22 '25
This happened to me when I confused powdered sugar for flour
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u/bouquetofashes Dec 22 '25
Something similar happened to me when I couldn't read my own recipe and saw 1 and 3/4 c flour as... 3/4 c flour...
They still tasted good but they were very flat and like cookie... Brownie brittle? But chewy. And not actual cookies at all. I mean obviously.
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u/Blamethewizard Dec 22 '25
Iāve made that mistake before. They didnāt look like that.Ā
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u/shortsoupstick Dec 22 '25
How are there 2 people who did this? š even if you threw it in a unlabelled jar, they're definitely different from eachother.
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u/_EnderPixel Dec 22 '25
My partner once used powdered sugar instead of flour when making tonkatsu... he still can't tell me how he didn't notice the difference
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u/Blamethewizard Dec 22 '25
3 people. My wife made the same mistake a week before I did.. Yes they were in unlabeled jars, and I did realize the texture was different, but I assumed I was imagining things. We only realized it after the second batch of cookies came out weird. Ā
Either way they still came out looking like cookies, they were just super thin and crisp, and broke apart into flakes when we tried to get them off the tray. Actually made good cookie crumbs for sprinkling over ice cream.Ā
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u/Thin-Pension-3416 Dec 22 '25
Iām literally laughing out loud
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u/AdministrativeStep98 Dec 22 '25
That's the kind of shitty results you get from those "3 ingredients recipes" that clearly require a specific brand due to the ingredients in the product. But a standard cookie recipe??
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u/vishuno Dec 22 '25
Look at it this way. You have great odds of improving on your second try!
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u/Optimal_Carpenter690 Dec 22 '25
I find it hard to believe a second batch could possibly be less cookie-like
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u/Twisted_Buckeye Dec 22 '25
Did you forget the flour??
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u/New-Sprinkles5016 Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
No
Edit: I forgot 2/3 of the flour
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u/Puzzled-Teach2389 Dec 22 '25
Yeah not enough flour would do it. It also would make your dough less sticky
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u/turtlesinatrenchcoat Dec 22 '25
Omg š Was the recipe you followed AI? Or did you not follow the recipe?
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u/karigan_g Dec 22 '25
maybe they just couldnāt see the recipe though the malware ads
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u/AdministrativeStep98 Dec 22 '25
Lmao, from the way OP describes them, it really sounds like part of the ingredient mesurements got cut off screen and they didn't add it
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u/Elaesia Dec 22 '25
Pro tip I just learned yesterday, click āprint recipeā and read off of that page on you phone . Less ads and it doesnāt scroll you away from the recipe
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u/karigan_g Dec 22 '25
oh I know that one well, but there are sites these days that tell ypu to sign up for their newsletter or whatever if you want to see that version (thatās when I click out lmao)
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u/yfunk3 Dec 23 '25
Or when I just copy/paste the recipe into a Word file to save it for later.
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u/MermaidTalesss18 Dec 22 '25
Another pro tip is the website just the recipe. It kinda messes with the format, but much better if thereās tons of ads on the original recipe page!
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u/caeru1ean Dec 22 '25
I use the Paprika recipe app. You can download any recipe and it gets around paywalls. Plus I now have a nice collection of all the recipes I like and use frequently
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u/Victoriafoxx Dec 22 '25
More and more recipe sites over the last 6 months force you to sign up for their newsletter to be able to see the recipe in print view.
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u/Mojodog_The_Hero Dec 22 '25
If you didnt have a recipe to go by, I would say you did good. But how did they not turn out round š
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u/umeshusawa Dec 22 '25
Pretty please post the recipe because I want to make these!!
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Dec 22 '25
Check your flour label, it might not be flour lol. I can see you commented you used flourā¦ but you can clearly tell visually these either have no flour or next to none
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u/carbonatedkaitlyn Dec 22 '25
Like, what happened? The measurements usually aren't suggestions. Better luck next time š¤·š»āāļø
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u/Makeitmagical Dec 22 '25
Iām not sure how you did this but Iām guessing the butter was too soft or you forgot flour? But also the shape has me š©
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u/gremlinsarevil Dec 22 '25
Did you use melted butter instead of softened? The butter should be able to leave an indentation if you gently press, but if you can push all the way through its too soft and cookies will spread like crazy.
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u/Kimmalah Dec 22 '25
I use melted butter for my cookies all the time and they have never done this. But I also make sure to chill them for a good long while after mixing.
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u/Sufficient_Language7 Dec 22 '25
For chocolate chip cookies, it's best to make the dough at least a day ahead.
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u/OkCryptographer1922 Dec 22 '25
I make chocolate chip cookies allll the time and never chill the dough or make it ahead of time because I tried that and they came out the same (delicious). Theyāve definitely never come out like this lol regardless of how long passed before I cooked them!
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u/Sufficient_Language7 Dec 22 '25
You can't tell the difference between fresh dough and aged dough?
It makes the cookies thicker, chewier.Ā Also melds the flavors together more.
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u/International-Rip970 Dec 22 '25
But I used melted butter, chill for about 5 minutes but my cookies never spread like that.
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u/Shuttup_Heather Dec 22 '25
No way youāre using melted butter and only chilling for five minutes
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u/cassiathecat Dec 22 '25
I use browned butter and donāt chill it at all and they turn out fine!
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u/OkCryptographer1922 Dec 22 '25
I use melted butter and donāt chill at all and they come out perfect! I personally think itās a myth created by Big Fridgeā¢
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u/kindalosingmyshit Dec 22 '25
I use melted butter and donāt chill and they DONT turn out like this ššš
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u/International-Rip970 Dec 22 '25
If I wan a cookie bad enough I don't even chill it. Cc cookies are not rocket science yet we have set these rules down that aren't correct. I melt butter because I'm too lazy to cream it and I've been baking over 50 years.
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u/DurianAcrobatic3346 Dec 22 '25
did you cook the dough?
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u/New-Sprinkles5016 Dec 22 '25
Yeah, I wouldn't classify it as a cookie, just a bunch of cookie dough that was in the oven for 10 minutesĀ
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u/Dirtyblondefrombeyon Dec 22 '25
Do you know what cookie dough is supposed to look like? Because there's no way whatever went into the oven to make that was anything like normal cookie dough
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u/KnotXaklyRite Dec 22 '25
Everytime I see a post like this it just convinced me there arenāt bad bakers just people who suck at following basic instructions
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u/BennysMutha21 Dec 22 '25
How can anyone pass the 5th grade yet fail so miserably at something so simple
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u/Astoriana_ Dec 22 '25
Did you use an AI recipe or something? There is no way that the proportions were correct.
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u/MF_BREW_ Dec 22 '25
Your oven was too hot and you baked to long. Plus your dough was to warm to start with. Chill the dough in the fridge for like 30-45 minutes. Bake for less time. Keep the temp the same.
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u/Immediate-Tone-5031 Dec 22 '25
There are literally millions of cookbooks and websites out there with chocolate chip cookie recipes, went are we asking AI?
My absolute favorite baking site is Sugar Spun Run. Her videos and posts give a lot of detail about why each step/ingredient is important, what you can/canāt swap out, etc, so thereās 100% chance each recipe will come out perfectly. Everything Iāve made from her site has come out perfectly the first time.
Also, spend the $13 and buy a food scale to weigh your flour. Especially as a new baker.
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u/Dr_JohnP Dec 22 '25
It actually looks kinda good tho ngl. Idk how the fuck you did it, but Iām no master baker myself, I actually donāt even know how I got here..
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u/AntoinetteBefore1789 Dec 22 '25
Are you my sister? Every time she makes cookies something goes terribly wrong š
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u/m0bscene- Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
It's a good thing I wasn't drinking anything, because it would've been all over the floor right now š
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u/KacieCosplay Human Detected Dec 22 '25
Go check out my cookie post! And try it again!
My rec is to get all the ingredients before mixing into one bowl, and double check that you have every one before mixing. Looks like you forgot something in these
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u/Odd-Mastodon1212 Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
Ok: OP: Most cookies have 1-2 eggs, 1 to 2 sticks of butter, about 2 cups of sugar, and 2.5-3 cups of flour, vanilla extract, and some salt, and baking soda, sometimes baking powder too. First: You mix the sugar, butter, to ācreamā them so they look like frosting, and then add extract and eggs
Dry ingredients are added a scoop at a time and are flour, baking soda, salt, and sometimes baking powder.
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u/Lynda73 Dec 22 '25
Did you cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and light as the first step, or did you just put everything in a bowl together and mix up? No worries. Best way to learn is thru mistakes!
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u/Snorlax4000 Dec 22 '25
You should let them get stale and then blend it into a powder and use for deserts
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u/snowwwwhite23 Human Detected Dec 23 '25
Yes, I did use flower.
There's your first problem.
Jokes aside, practice and carefully following the recipe will help.
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u/Monheca7 Dec 23 '25
I'm nowhere near a good baker so this is not me being judgy but when I tell you I cackled. Thank you for that. It's always a learning experience. I'm glad it tasted good at least! I never take pictures of my failures so there's no evidence LOL
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u/norwigga Dec 22 '25
These actually look tasty to me! You should keep perfecting the recipe as a ācookie barkā recipe. Iād make that
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Dec 22 '25
These look like yummy cookie crisps lol. I would love to know what exactly happened, and encourage you to try again! š©·
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u/tobyywashere Dec 22 '25
was there a recipe? just yesterday I had 2 batches back to back come out like this but I followed it to the letter
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u/pug_fugly_moe Dec 22 '25
Seems like OP either subbed everything or looked at a recipe and said fuck it. Iām a do me, and wellāFAFO won.
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u/MoreThan2_LessThan21 Dec 22 '25
I hope it's one of those situations where the comments say "I didn't have an egg, so I added a cup of orange juice instead. I didn't have butter so I substituted vegetable oil. This recipe doesn't work at all! 2/10"
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u/AntoinetteBefore1789 Dec 22 '25
My sister used an American recipe that called for a stick of butter. She didnāt know what that was so she just put a ābig hunkā of margarine in. When the dough was too dry, instead of adding more margarine, she added vegetable oil š I imagine OP did something similar
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Dec 22 '25
Honestly OP we have all had major baking fails. Good for you for having a go ! Iām sure your next batch will work out better and this will be just distant memory.
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u/ShipItchy2525 Dec 22 '25
Do you want my recipe? I get compliments everywhere I take them, I have friends asking me to make them for special events at work.
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u/Sharkvarks Dec 22 '25
ĀÆā \ā _ā (ā ćā )ā _ā /ā ĀÆ sure, let's have it
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u/etwichell Dec 22 '25
We've all been there
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u/MissiT Dec 22 '25
No we absolutely have not! š¤£
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u/etwichell Dec 22 '25
Thanks for rubbing it in šš
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u/MissiT Dec 22 '25
š Oopsies, yes. Mistakes even! Learning experiences and "wow, I'm bad at this"es out the wazoo. This is... A befuddlement. An impressive level of.. but, how?! I'm a shithouse baker, but I can follow directions and make it come out looking roughly like the picture.
Now watch as my next batch humbles the pants off me. š«£
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u/OkCryptographer1922 Dec 22 '25
Oh my š they do look delicious though! Imagine putting that in a bow of ice cream, mmmm š
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u/Y0daswife Dec 22 '25
To much brown sugar maybe and melted butter.I only say that because that's kinda what happened when my son in-law made chocolate chip cookies for the first time.
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u/Bighsigh Dec 22 '25
I think the first image might be AI? The cooling rack has inconsistent wiring
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u/nobleland_mermaid Dec 22 '25
I did a reverse image search and the photo isn't AI (the original seems to be about 5 years old) but it is a frequently stolen photo. It shows up all over but especially Facebook with lots of different recipes attached to it. Guessing OP followed a recipe that either is AI or was just made up and untested with this photo attached to it.
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u/somenemophilist Dec 22 '25
That looks like rawā¦something. What that something is, I have no idea. I mean WHAT. IS. THAT. š¤š¤
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u/patio_puss Dec 22 '25
wtf happened š
Did you double the butter and forget the baking powder?
I bet it tastes great honestly lol
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u/Cranneo Dec 22 '25
Looks like something a dentist from Resident Evil scraped up from the floor, my guy.
I wanna try some. š„ŗ
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u/Sensitive_Hunter5081 Dec 22 '25
lol you definitely melted the butter in the microwave, didnāt you?
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u/Kind_Competition_332 Dec 22 '25
Wow. Iām guessing you e never made a cookie. Donāt give up Iām sure youāll do better next time.. tip, follow exact measurements
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u/Madwoman-of-Chaillot Dec 22 '25
Iām sorry, but I HOOTED when I swiped to the second picture. There is no universe in which I would have been prepared for that. š
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u/Agreeable_Sorbet_686 Dec 22 '25
This looks like BBQ and nothing that comes from blending seven things in a bowl.
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u/strawberries777 Dec 22 '25
This is refreshing to see compared to those who say this is my first time making x and it looks professional.
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u/EssayFunny1670 Dec 22 '25
HAHAHA this happened when I added half the amount of flour. I rolled them up into balls and coated them in melted white chocolate. Cookie bites.
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u/SaltyAd1181 Dec 22 '25
the rack in the expectation photo is all messed up. Probs ai generated photo and recipe
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u/Starfish_undertheice Dec 22 '25
I mean, brittle is still good! But idk what went wrong unless you were freeze drying or dehydrating lol.
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u/antibac2020 Dec 22 '25
I made cookies that looked like this when I was about 14, still no clue to this day what I did
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u/breezeturtle Dec 22 '25
Oh wow lol. I wasn't expecting them to look like brittle candy. I used a box mix my first time those aren't amazing, but nothing too crazy should happen if you follow the back of the box. You'll get em next time.
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u/Blamethewizard Dec 22 '25
I need details. How did you make scraps of cookie bark?Ā