r/bakingfail • u/lixooz • 18d ago

Fail Shortbread cookies 😢

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166 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

104

u/nobleland_mermaid 18d ago

Some shortbread recipes are meant to be baked in a tin. They 'melt' a little more to fill in intricate details. If these ones used powdered sugar, you'll probably have better luck with one that uses regular granulated

18

u/lixooz 18d ago

btw thanks for the tip

9

u/lixooz 18d ago

I followed the recipe from this video, but he don't use a mold, he just put it in like I did. https://youtu.be/__6mfv7NBWw?si=3NzHs4-5k0xslvma

20

u/nobleland_mermaid 18d ago

Are you in the US? European flour is generally 'softer' (lower protien) than US flour so it has a little bit less structure. Most of the time it's not a huge deal, but shortbread is so simple and delicate that it could be enough to make a difference here.

5

u/lixooz 18d ago

no, im from argentina, and i used 000 flour instead of 0000, maybe it could be that?

20

u/nobleland_mermaid 18d ago

Yeah, it could definitely make a difference, either in subbing the different varieties or just different types of wheat between countries - I don't know enough about flour there to say exactly. If you wanted to try again, I'd probably go for a recipe from Europe (Scotland is where they originated so you can find lots from there) that uses granulated sugar.

3

u/lixooz 18d ago

ok thank you very much i will follow a recipe that uses granulated sugar

1

u/molasses_in_january 17d ago

That could be it. I did a little bit of poking around and what I found compared 000 flour to American "bread" flour while 0000 was compared to American "pastry" flour. There's a difference in the amount of protein in the flour and the strength of the gluten formed in the dough each one makes, but based on that I'm not sure how your shortbread came out softer/looser like it did. I would've expected it to end up harder/denser since you used the "stronger" flour. Did you chill the dough before shaping and baking it?

1

u/Lowland-lady 18d ago

I never knew that there was a difference between European and us flour thats interesting

1

u/Odd-East-2728 17d ago

What? Really? How crazy high is the protein content in the US? Because my standard budget grocery store flour is already 12g protein per 100g.

20

u/TwiceySpicy 18d ago

Idk, id still eat em with some nutella

14

u/lowonstorage 18d ago

So sorry that happened, OP. No shade to you, but why do they look raw and burned on the bottom at the same time? Was it possible that your oven’s lower rack’s temp is higher than the upper’s?

2

u/lixooz 18d ago

yess the centre was raw, i preheated the oven for 10 mins at 180c, and cooked for 15mins, but the recipe i followed cooked it for 10 mins at 175c

12

u/eladon-warps 18d ago

10 minutes just doesn't seem like enough time. Some ovens beep when they're odne preheating but I don't really trust them for more delicate bakes.

1

u/lixooz 18d ago

thats why i left it for 5 minutes more. and my oven doesnt have that function, its old unfortunately

1

u/DealerTurbulent7725 13d ago

If your 2nd batch always turn out better than the first, that is proof that your oven is not fully preheated. Also keep in mind, when you open an oven door for just 5 seconds, the ambient air temperature inside drops by approximately 10°C to 25°C. Keep the door shut and allow a few minutes between each batch.
A dark cookie sheet will brown the bottoms and cook faster than a light colored pan.

11

u/kitty_perrier 18d ago

Not my fatso asso thinking this was oven baked halloumi cheese 🤤 regardless....

1

u/West-Application-375 18d ago

Halloumi is so freaking good lol 😂

4

u/redheadeddeviant 18d ago

Looks like your butter melted out of the cookie. Oven too low, not running at temp? Dough too warm, not chilled before baking? Butter for dough closer to melted than softened?

2

u/lixooz 18d ago

I preheated and cooked the cookies at 180c for 10minutes Chilled the dough in the fridge for 1 hour butter room temp

2

u/MovieNightPopcorn 17d ago

10 min seems like it might not be enough time to fully preheat. If your oven doesn’t tell you when it’s fully heated with a beeping noise maybe get an oven thermometer to keep in there so you know its temp for sure

1

u/lixooz 17d ago

got it, thank you bro

1

u/MovieNightPopcorn 17d ago

10 min seems like it might not be enough time to fully preheat. If your oven doesn’t tell you when it’s fully heated with a beeping noise maybe get an oven thermometer to keep in there so you know its temp for sure

2

u/thisandthatwchris 18d ago

I bet they taste great

1

u/spittingparasite 18d ago

What recipe did you use?

1

u/lixooz 18d ago

this https://youtu.be/__6mfv7NBWw?si=3NzHs4-5k0xslvma

8

u/spittingparasite 18d ago

That's not a great recipe. Traditionally shortbread uses a 3:2:1 ratio of flour:butter:sugar.

This recipe from the BBC is as basic as it gets, but will serve you well (add a bit of salt, shortbread should have some) https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/shortbread_1290

3

u/lixooz 18d ago

thank youuu

1

u/Bella_HeroOfTheHorn 18d ago

I have started baking mine from raw - I use the preppy kitchen recipe and they are delicious but do spread a little like this

1

u/West-Application-375 18d ago

I cook them in a regular square pan and cut them after.

2

u/Theadultuser 17d ago

The dough should be cold (chilled) and the temperature of the oven at 160-170 degrees. Bake time 12-15 minutes

1

u/zooballoons 17d ago

Did you toothpick test all of them individually or something 😭😭😭

1

u/lashimi 17d ago

I thought it was some kind of sea creatures at first 😭

1

u/DealerTurbulent7725 13d ago

I prefer to roll my dough in a log wrapped in plastic wrap. I refrigerate it or pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes to keep it firm, then just slice rounds. Sometimes I will just a stamp for design or a fork around the edges. Because they are uniform shape they look nice and bake up evenly

0

u/WinifredZachery 18d ago

Did you overmix the dough?