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An AWESOME ACCIDENT is what I call when you mess up and then come up with a solution that's better than anything you were planning on doing.

 

My AWESOME ACCIDENT came after posting a plea for help for my rippled icing from my first attempt at using my new dehydrator.

 

 Julia was so kind to reply to my plea and advised me to thicken my icing which helped for my next batch. But WHAT TO DO with my warped, rippled, mess ups? I didn't have time to re-bake cookies and start over. And I had only two colors I could work with for this order, BLACK & WHITE. My order was for a 50th birthday and this person loved paisley print, black and white, and Western theme. The challenge was trying to coordinate all of these different requests into ONE platter of cookies and have it look like a SET and not a mess.

 

Now I had ruined my first set of cookies coming out of my dehydrator, so I was already off to a BAD start. I was in TEARS ready to TRASH the cookies. Usually I MUNCH my MESS UPS and MOVE ON, but there were too many to eat. It was time to get creative and make it an AWESOME ACCIDENT.

 

After looking at the cookie's warped surface, I decided to start adding tiny dots and paisleys to help cover up the ripples in my icing. It really started to look good and soon my tears of frustration were replaced with that excitement when you just KNOW you are on to something really AWESOME!! I was having so much fun with the whole paisley and dot theme that I continued it onto the rest of the cookies that came out better with the thicker icing (per Julia's instructions).

I am hoping this post will encourage others to share their stories of Icing Issues and how you resolved to fix them. 

 

How did you handle your AWESOME ACCIDENT?

 

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  • Warped and Rippled
  • Black & White Awesome Accidents
Last edited by Julia M. Usher
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My best accident recovery wasn't about cookie decorating, but about creating a bar cookie. I was trying to make almond cookies and used a can of almond filling instead of almond paste. I had this amazing tasting wet batter that I didn't want to throw away. So I made a shortbread cookie base, baked it for a little, put the almond filling on top and baked it again. These are now a family favorite, as well as being published in Taste of Home. It was truly my happiest accident ever!

 

Your cowboy cookies look great!

Thank you Robin, My name is Robin too. I loved your story and how you made your happy accident into yummy Almond Bars,Amazing that they have been posted in Taste of Home, what an honor. How did they find your recipe? Did you submit it? Maybe you could add a link so we can all try your Almond bar recipe?
Originally Posted by Robin H:

My best accident recovery wasn't about cookie decorating, but about creating a bar cookie. I was trying to make almond cookies and used a can of almond filling instead of almond paste. I had this amazing tasting wet batter that I didn't want to throw away. So I made a shortbread cookie base, baked it for a little, put the almond filling on top and baked it again. These are now a family favorite, as well as being published in Taste of Home. It was truly my happiest accident ever!

 

Your cowboy cookies look great!

 

Thank you Beat&Bake, That is the highest compliment. When you can't even see the mistake. Kind of like a magician, doing lots of things to distract you from what is really going on.. My dots and dabbles were a distraction.
Originally Posted by Beat&Bake:

They look fantastic! I wouldn't have even been aware there was a problem

 

This is my happy accident, the butterfly is a stamp and I thought my flooded base was dry but it wasn't 100% and I cracked the icing! I was annoyed and pushed the RI again as it should have been dry and then I noticed it was making a crackled effect! I got out my brown dust and dust over the cracks and I think it ended up looking pretty cool!

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  • Butterfly

I love happy accidents! Your "accident" looks awesome!

I had something similar happen to me once. I had to do bridal gowns and as the white icing dried, I noticed a lot of rippling and air bubbles. I didn't have time to remake cookies, so I ended up airbrushing a lace pattern onto them with pearl, and then doing a delicate brush embroidery to cover ripples, dents, and bubbles. They turned out looking more beautiful than my mind envisioned them to look in the first place!

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