12 cookie fails to make you feel better about your kitchen skills

Rachel AskinasiJan 23, 2021, 18:53 IST

Insider

Home bakers don't always get cookies right.
It's easy to mess up macarons, classic cookies, and more.
From burnt crisps to monstrously oversized cookies, here's what can go wrong.

Cookies seem like a tried and true baked good for even amateur home bakers to master, but they're not always easy.

Whether it's a batch laden with chocolate-chips or brightly-colored macarons, there's a lot that can go wrong. Even cookie-cutters don't guarantee a mistake-free dessert.

Bakers at Insider have gone through dozens of mistakes while making chocolate-chip and gingerbread cookies from scratch, but these home cooks prove that even the simplest cookie fails are way more common than you may think.

This looks like a case of a misbehaving oven.

There were several different mishaps with this one batch of cookies. Scott Searle/Twitter

Burning cookies - sometimes really, really badly - is common.

These heart-shaped cookies were burnt to a crisp. caitlin.april.ellen/Instagram

These macarons exploded instead of growing feet, like. they were supposed to.

Macarons typically release at the bottom, not on top as these did. Shawna Rose/Instagram

The baker of these macarons said they looked like "little alien monsters."

Macarons should be smooth and slightly rounded on top. Chloe Pantazi/Insider

Though they look more like brownies, this is also a failed batch of macarons.

This batch melted in every direction. bored_in_self_isolation/Instagram

These look similar to the chocolate macarons, but they're actually chocolate marshmallow cookies. Or supposed to be, at least.

Soft dough and too much oven time made these conjoined-blob cookies. andreawadadavies/Instagram

Even a self-proclaimed "cookie pro" messes up sometimes.

A batch of failed gluten-free, chocolate-chip cookies that congealed into one mega-cookie. kaydanater/Instagram

Some home bakers have a hard time getting gluten-free recipes right.

This was meant to be a batch of gluten-free cookies. practicalbydefault/Instagram

Even with employing a cookie cutter, this became a batch of shapeless treats.

They still look delicious! fallen_angel2318/Instagram

Dough that was too warm turned these bears into blobs.

Donita Oosahwee said these were supposed to be bears. donitastar7/Instagram

In an attempt to make vegan sugar cookies, this home baker ended up with broken bits that were actually perfect for repurposing.

These cookies crumbled in the oven. tidastreats/Instagram

These cookies fell apart before they could become beautifully curled rods.

There may have been too much butter here. wheel_and_spiral_homestead/Instagram

I made Ina Garten's smashed eggs on toast, and the elevated brunch dish only took me 15 minutes

Cookies on the Business Insider India website