I had some recipe failures recently.

It happens sometimes. No big deal!

Unless it happens three times in a row. In a row!

The first failure was still edible. Really spicy, but that can be ok.

The second two?

I need to talk about it. Can I vent? Thanks.

Look at how pretty these were! All plump and soft. Sure they looked great, but the flavor? After two days of sitting on the counter uneaten, I threw them in the trash. Something was off. Very, very off.

I didn’t even take pictures of the next failure. I should have, just so you could see what I had done. I was so ashamed!

Have you ever made muffins that totally collapsed on themselves and tasted like a puddle of mushy goo? I hadn’t until last week. Bottoms burnt, insides mush, flavor unpalatable. In. The. Trash.

Man, was I a wreck! I have some thoughts on what went wrong, but I have never thrown that much food away at once. The hippie in me was totally devastated. The baker in me was pissed. And my belly was totally sad.

I had to do some immediate comfort/ego boosting baking. So I made these amazing muffins (and added chocolate chips, naturally) and these:

Don’t worry, that post is coming soon!

So, what about that delicious looking photo at the top? Yeah, that didn’t turn out as expected, but at least it didn’t end up in the trash!

Can I tell you a secret?

Chipotle powder is a great substitute for Ancho chile powder. AS LONG AS YOU REDUCE THE AMOUNT!

I know that now.

I was loosely following this recipe, but clearly I need to work on it a little more before I post it. I’m going to think of my mistakes as public service announcements.  The more I learn, the more I can share.  And then you won’t end up like me: a sad and hungry hippie baker.

Happy baking!