13 Struggles Every Baker Has Experienced

We've all been there. Make baking better with NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE®.

1. The Dreaded Unicookie

Pattie, (CC BY-SA http://2.0) / Flickr: piratealice

BPheonix / CC BY http://2.0 / Flickr: bpheonix

To prevent spreading, omit baking powder. Also, use an oven thermometer to make sure that your oven is *really* as hot as you think it is.

2. The Abominable Cracked Cake

Carol329 / CC BY http://2.0 / Flickr: carol329

Take measures to avoid cracking by only mixing ingredients until they are just combined. Overmixing adds extra air (the culprit of cracking). Additionally, tap your filled cake pan on the counter before you put it in the oven. This will help trapped air bubbles surface before they get to the oven and expand.

3. Sticky Bundt

Pattie / CC BY-SA http://2.0 / Flickr: piratealice

The best fix is to coat your pan with non-stick spray. If you've forgotten, a good in-a-pinch solve is to freeze your cake. It's more likely to hold its shape on the dismount.

4. Frosting Ooze

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Let the cookies cool COMPLETELY, then pipe the outline with a small #1 tip. Fill in the lines for a picture-perfect cookie.

5. Broken, Busted Macarons

Joy, (CC BY http://2.0) / Via Flickr: joyosity

Use a hair dryer to blow-dry your macarons prior to baking. Really really.

6. The Densest Bread on the Seven Seas

Bart Everson, (CC BY http://2.0) / Via Flickr: editor

Make sure your yeast is fresh! Stale yeast won't fluff up your loaf.

7. Flat Cake

Tim Parkinson, (CC BY http://2.0) / Via Flickr: timparkinson

If you're 100% sure you didn't forget the baking soda or baking powder (like, really, really sure), double check that your product isn't expired.

8. Burned-on-the-Outside, Raw-on-the-Inside

makeshiftlove, (CC BY http://2.0) / Via Flickr: eleasa

Turn down the temperature! And make sure you're using the middle rack.

9. Cupcake Overflow

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Overfilling your wrappers can result in overflow, as can fans in convection ovens blowing the liquid batter up and over.

10. Oven Drop

Martin Cathrae / CC BY-SA http://2.0 / Flickr: suckamc

Use sturdy pans, invest in good oven mitts, and slide the rack out a little before you remove any pans from the oven!

11. The Big, Bad Sunken Center

Uwe Trottmann, (CC BY-SA http://2.0) / Via Flickr: tripmckay

Don't open the oven to "check in" on your cake! This is likely the culprit of your cake's dipping middle.

12. Floppy Flan

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Usually an unset flan is a sign of undercooking — an undercooked flan will never harden, no matter how long it chills!

13. And Horrendous, Beastly Messes

Joel Kramer, (CC BY http://2.0) / Flickr: 75001512@N00

Dennis Crowley / CC BY http://2.0 / Flickr: dpstyles

Jo Naylor / CC BY http://2.0 / Flickr: pandora_6666

Spills and splatters, dishes galore, and insane disarray... it happens to the best of us. Solution: mix less aggressively, tidy up as you go, and use as few utensils as possible.

So many epic fails! Avoid the struggles of baking with NEW NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Frozen Cookie Dough.

Just follow the instructions, pop 'em in the oven, let your home fill with the aroma of freshly baked cookies, and enjoy!