I don’t know if you are supposed to publish your failures (or non-tasty results) on a blog, but disappointment is a big part of baking so here goes…. I found a Martha Stewart recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Cookies that looked good and sounded delicious.
Here is the strawberry shortcake cookie dough all mixed up. Looking good at this point.
Here they are about to go into the oven. The recipe said to use parchment paper, but I used a silicon baking mat instead. The recipe also said to sprinkle sugar on top of the cookies. I should have known better. From my many scone baking adventures I have found that any sugar that lands on the pan instead of the cookies will burn to a crisp.
Just out of the oven at this point. The still look good. The edges are turning brown and the centers are still pale and soft looking. Yummm…
I thought I had a winner at this point. But then I turned a cookie over and noticed the bottoms. YUCK…. Granted I do have a hot spot in my oven and I have to rotate the tray once or twice, but even with that a few of the cookies ended up a little too toasty. Also notice the areas of the cookies where the sugared strawberries came in direct contact with the pan. Cinders!!
Here are the best of the bunch. The finished cookie looked nice, but unfortunately the taste was downright bland and definitely not worth the calories. If they had tasted better I might have experimented with protecting the bottom, but they were not worth a second try.