By Corrine Fenske, Operations Manager 06/24/2024

Have you ever baked cookies and they didn't turn out correctly? Even with a flop, there's often a way to fix or turn them into something even more delicious.

(keep reading - recipe below and linked in our Recipes page)

A few weeks ago, I was experimenting with our pastry, bread and general-purpose flour to see how each batch would be different. My pastry flour batch was a flop! But it was my favorite tasting cookie. So I decided to experiment a little to see if I could turn my cookie fail into a new dessert.

Original Batch:

While the general purpose and bread flour cookies were slightly different in texture and taste, the pastry flour cookies were a total flop...they were flat and spread very thin. Even when cool they were flexible, but not crumbly. But since they were my favorite tasting cookie I wondered if I could salvage them. This gave me an idea - what if I could form these cookies into a cup, scoop ice cream into them and make a new dessert?? I set to research why the cookies spread in the first place. According to Sally at Sally's Baking Addiction, my cookies likely spread because I started with melted butter (I was in a hurry so I microwaved it) and the dough was too warm.

Experiment #1:

A couple weeks pass and I try to recreate my "flop" to turn them into cookie cups. With my new knowledge I tried a slightly different approach. I used melted butter in my recipe but spread the dough over the pan as one giant cookie with the intent to cut large circles and press them into my muffin pan and freeze them. This meant I ended up baking the cookie a little longer so the middle would be done. It puffed like a normal cookie, but settled after I took it out and it was a little thinner, but not thin enough. I still pressed most of the cookie into my muffin pan, much to the dismay of my cookie-loving family who came crawling out of their rooms looking for morsels. I held them back with the promise of another batch.

Experiment #2:

My third batch I expanded on options to make the cookies spread; melted butter, warm dough, unlined cookie sheet, slightly overmixing the dough (too much overmixing can make for tough cookies and we don't want that!), and preheating the pan. I measured the dough (about two tablespoons each) and flattened it slightly to start the spreading process. Eight minutes seems like a long time when the anticipation is so high. While the thickness was almost correct, these didn't turn out as quite as I hoped either; the edges were too hard to form into the muffin pan and they were overbaked. I decided since the pan was preheated I should reduce the baking time.

Experiment #3:

I thought back to my first experiment, and decided it's possible I had left out the baking powder, which is used as a rising and leavening agent in baking. I mixed up my batch and kept all other factors the same; warm pan, melted butter, etc. except baked for six minutes with one big cookie to cut out circles. This didn't work either; when the timer was up the cookie had puffed (which was unexpected since I left the baking powder out) but settled after I took it out of the oven. Also, it was too brown on top but wasn't thin enough. And even though I omitted just 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, the taste seemed to be a little off.

Experiment #4:

By experiment number four, I felt I was pretty close to figuring it out. I mixed up my batch with melted butter, added the baking powder back in, spooned out nine blotches of dough on a preheated pan and baked for five minutes. Definitely not done enough so I gave it another minute. Nope, this batch wasn't quite right either. The dough was still underbaked in the middle and plenty done on the outside. I'll be honest, I love cookies and have been known to eat them for breakfast. However, by this point in my testing I had my fill and decided to give it a rest for the night.

Experiment #5:

I wanted to get my cookies done right away in the morning. While I made breakfast, I whipped up a batch of cookies. This time I nailed it! Melted butter, heated pan, spread the dough as one big cookie across the whole pan making sure the middle wasn't too thick. Bake for seven minutes. The cookie puffed again in the oven but when it cooled it settled to be a nice, thin cookie. I let the cookie cool on the pan for about five to ten minutes then used a glass that measured 2 1/2"-3" across and used it as a template to cut out cookies. I gently pressed the cut-out cookie in each muffin pan cup and put it in the freezer for an hour. This was a nice size cup; not too big yet enough to hold a scoop of ice cream and some toppings.

And if you’re wondering, we absolutely ate some of the cookie cut-out scraps for breakfast.

To Ponder

While eating my cookies for breakfast, I thought about all my experiments. This had become a lot of work for a cookie cup! While I wouldn’t do this all the time for failed cookies (let’s be real, my family and I would just eat them) it was a fun way to create a new recipe to beat the summer heat whether just to make with your children or for a summer get-together.

If your baking recipe fails, have a little fun and see what else you can make with it. Your new recipe may turn into a family favorite.

Experiment and learn; that's how we grow!

Cookie Cups

Makes 9-10 cookie cups

Preheat cookie sheet and oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2-1 tsp molasses

1 large egg

Mix all together until blended and smooth

Sift in:

1 1/2 cups EMH Pastry Flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix all together until blended and smooth

Remove preheated cookie sheet from oven and spread dough onto sheet making sure the middle isn’t too thick. Sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips.

Bake for seven minutes at 375, until the dough is slightly browned on top and the edges are slightly cracked.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Use the bottom of a cup or glass to measure about 3” diameter and cut out cookies. Press each cutout gently into muffin pan and put in the freezer for at least an hour.

When ready to eat, remove cookie cups from freezer and top with ice cream and berries or your favorite toppings.

Cookie Flop Saved