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Dorie’s Translucent Maple Tuiles just may have been my biggest kitchen disaster to date, haha. Which is too bad, because the very few I was able to salvage were delicious, and it would have been nice to have had more.

These tuiles were supposed to come out paper thin, lacey and pliable, so that you quickly remove them from the baking sheet to a curved rolling pin to dry. My first batch came out smoking and completely burnt, even having baked them for under the requisite seven minutes. For the second batch, I was scared to leave them in the oven for too long, so I pulled them out early, hoping that the cookies would continue to cook on the sheet pan. But I took them out too early, at four and a half minutes, and never got the “translucency”—basically the dough just melted into one big mess, and I got cookies that looked more like Pringles.

The third batch was going to be my last—I used up all the dough. I lowered the temperature a smidgen and instead of relying on the timer, I kept a close eye on the cookies as they were in the oven. At about five minutes, the cookies were bubbling nicely (which gave the cookies their lacey quality), and the edges were looking like they getting dark and crispy. Just a few seconds longer, and they probably would have burned again.

I pulled them out and let them bubble on the cookie sheet just a bit more. I tried my hardest not to let the cookies fall apart as I slid them on the spatula, but as you can see, some of them didn’t make it. I draped them over a rolling pin, and was lucky to get two decent-looking tuiles. The rest ended up as lacey shards. That’s OK though. They tasted lovely, of maple and butter, and had a satisfying crunch.

Thanks to Clivia of Bubie’s Little Baker for picking this recipe. Sorry I didn’t do it justice! You can get Dorie’s original recipe on Clivia’s blog. My adapted version using white whole wheat flour is below.

Recipe: Translucent Maple Tuiles
Adapted from Baking from my Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon white whole wheat flour, sifted

In a small bowl, using a sturdy rubber spatula or a hand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup together until light in color and texture. Gently stir in the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated. Cover the bowl, pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or for up to 1 week.

Getting ready to bake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Have two unlined baking sheets at hand and, if you want to curve the cookies into their traditional tile shape, a rolling pin or a slender bottle.

Roll small scoops of dough between your palms to form balls the size of small cherries or hazelnuts, and put the balls 2 inches apart on the unbuttered baking sheets (I recommend parchment).

Bake for about 7 minutes, or until the cookies spread and are golden colored and honeycombed. Immediately remove the baking sheets from the oven, let the cookies rest a few seconds and then, using a wide metal spatula, lift them from the sheets: The best way to do this is to carefully work the spatula under a cookie edge, then push the spatula beneath the cookie with a quick jerk. If the cookie crumples a bit, as it might, don’t worry—it will straighten out on the rolling pin or rack.

For curved cookies, moving with alacrity, lay the cookies, a few at a time, over the rolling pin. Transfer the cookies to a rack after they have set—under a minute—or, if you want flat cookies, just cool them on a rack. If the cookies cool and stick stubbornly to the baking sheet, slide the sheet into the oven for another minute to warm them.

If you are making another batch of cookies, make certain the baking sheets are clean and cool.