The Grater Trick To Rescue Cookies With Burnt Edges

Many people who bake in the oven on a regular basis have also had the unpleasant experience of burning something in the oven (but hopefully not on a regular basis). For some, it was the frozen pizza they forgot about or the surprise extra-crispy brownies that were supposed to be soft and gooey. Or perhaps it was that last batch of cookies you made for your child's sleepover that you ended up throwing away and replacing with store-bought donuts.

Burning cookies is actually pretty common in baking, so if you're new to cookie baking, don't be too hard on yourself for the mistake. It can happen to even the most experienced bakers. If it happens again to you, it doesn't necessarily mean the cookies have to mingle with the rest of your trash; there's a grater trick that can rescue cookies with burnt edges so they'll still be edible and enjoyable.

If your cookies are completely burnt and black, through and through, you're out of luck in saving them, unfortunately. This grater trick won't work for overly scorched cookies, but it will work if only the edges are just a little burned. All you need to do is take a cheese grater and gently scrape off the burnt layer, which will eventually expose the cookies' intended color and texture, more or less. They probably won't be as perfect as cookies that didn't start off with burnt edges, but at least you won't have to throw them away.

By the way, the device you use doesn't necessarily have to be a traditional box grater. A narrow microplane lemon zester or any other type of food grater will work just as well. You can even use a butter knife or cutting knife. The black layer should grate off nicely like a powder, so you won't have to worry about that repugnant burnt flavor. And depending on how much scraping is required and how gently you scrape, it's quite possible that whoever eats the cookies won't even notice that the treats were rescued.