Recipe Fail: Cranberry Shortbread

Doesn’t that picture of Cranberry Shortbread look delicious? It does, only because I’ve become really good at taking flattering pictures of my baking fails. But I don’t think this one is on me- I’m blaming this on Bon Appetit. I swear I followed this thing to the letter – and it was touted as “super simple.”

Let’s start with the parchment paper. I put together the shortbread, incorporating the butter into the flour and sugar with my hands and then spreading onto the pan over the parchment paper. I put it in the oven. I went about my business. I thought, it smells like a fireplace in here. Why is that? I opened the oven. The parchment paper had caught fire. I blame the mandatory “two inch parchment paper overhang” from the recipe. (Ok, maybe that part is on me.)

It was all downhill from there. The shortbread didn’t taste like a fireplace, but it was a crumbly mess. The cranberries, a basic “boil cranberries until they burst” step, were good. But homeless, as the shortbread was a bust.

Another failure, but at least it was festive.