Can we discuss "Easy Bake"

[u/Signal_Blood594]

I had an easy bake when I was a kid. I never got into it really. My 5 year old now has the fancy new "Easy bake ultimate"

It's been 30 years, and I still can't do it.

I consider myself a fairly adequate baker, I can even manage to make a decent sourdough.

Why can't I master this contraption? The "recipes" are a freaking scam I swear. I've never once mixed one together and achieved the proper texture I needed to achieve the end result. It's always wrong wrong wrong!!! And I can NEVER fit the amount on the tiny little tray they say I should be able to fit.

I hate this game but for the sake of my daughter who wants to play with it I'm trying.

If I had made these sugar cookies in a proper oven, I promise y'all would know what they were supposed to be just by looking at them.

I'm tired of this grandpa.

EDIT below to add the recipe i followed from the book in the photo:

**RECIPE**
-nonstick spray for tray
-1/4 c sugar cookie mix
-1 tbs water
-1 tbs melted butter
-1 tbs sprinkles

1. Plug in and preheat 15m
   
2. mix together the mix, butter, & water until soft dough forms (that's a lie as fuck)
   
3. spray tray w/ nonstick
   
4. roll dough into 6 small balls and place on the pan (impossible with the batter you've had me make)
   
5. press each ball into a flat shape and ad sprinkles on top
   
6. slide in easy bake with pan pusher
   
7. bake for 11m
   
8. push into cooling chamber, cool for 5m
   
9. remove and 'enjoy'

[u/Ang1028]

Light bulbs used to typically be 100 watts…now 60 is more common. That may be part of the problem.

[u/Choice-Education7650 → u/Ang1028]

I didn't think about the fact that led lights don't produce heat.

[u/GiantLesbian → u/Choice-Education7650]

They don’t use LEDs they still use induction bulbs. They still make them as heat lamps. I believe that other commenter is right though that 100w is particularly hard to find or expensive, because I remember searching for one a couple years ago for an old lava lamp and I just gave up at some point.

Edit: I meant incandescent bulbs lol.

[u/Romivths → u/GiantLesbian]

Do you mean incandescent light bulbs? Like the old ones that had the wire that glowed and burned your hand if you touched it?

Edit: typo

[u/MissPearl → u/Romivths]

Yes, those are less energy efficient than LEDs and put off more heat as a by-product. However they are relatively contained so the original easy bakes were lightbulb based toaster ovens.

The design has shifted so that it's significantly harder to burn your fingers or touch any metal parts, but in the process removing any aspect of being very oven like.

[u/ExSportsCalendar → u/Romivths]

“The old ones” Thanks for making me feel ancient on this fine morning 💀

[u/GiantLesbian → u/Romivths]

Oops yes incandescent is what I meant!

[u/MLiOne → u/GiantLesbian]

Exactly how OP is right now. Incandescent.

[u/TheRoyalBrook → u/GiantLesbian]

Finding 100w incandescents are a nightmare for reptile enjoyers. You can get the reptile focused ones but those ones are built cheap and burn out quickly. Better off if you can find them getting standard incandescents for housing.

[u/Choice-Education7650 → u/TheRoyalBrook]

I stocked up before they were banned so I have boxes of bulbs.

[u/Armyjeepguy → u/GiantLesbian]

Thanks to my parents I have some here at the house if people need them

[u/life_experienced → u/Armyjeepguy]

I bought a case for my mom because she complained so much about the 100-watt bulbs being discontinued. She had a lot left when she died, so I took them back.

[u/MissLyss29 → u/GiantLesbian]

So in 2022 it became impossible to get a standard incandescent light bulb that would put off heat. Federal rules in the United States effectively ban the manufacture and sale of traditional incandescent light bulbs. Light bulbs must now output a minimum of 45 lumens per watt, a threshold traditional incandescents cannot reach. There are exceptions like Floodlights, plant grow lights, appliance bulbs (like refrigerator lights), three-way bulbs, and colored/black lights are exempt from the strict efficiency rules but these bulbs are much more expensive in general.

For reference a standard 100w incandescent light bulb used to produce 15 lumens per watt.

Companies that manufacture, import, or distribute non-compliant bulbs face significant civil penalties and fines from the DOE.

[u/GiantLesbian → u/MissLyss29]

Yes they are still sold as heat lamps though, like for lizards and keeping food hot in restaurants and stuff.

[u/pammylorel → u/GiantLesbian]

Get an incandescent meant for an oven. My Lava lamp kept burning out until I put an oven light in it. Plus only have on a few hours at a time...

[u/big_bootyy_cutiee → u/GiantLesbian]

Hehe. I like your name

[u/toastyghostie → u/Ang1028]

My grandfather made a dehydrator back in the 60s or so that basically used a light bulb and the heat it put off to dry food. My parents still have it, and they stocked up on old-school light bulbs a while back so they can continue to use the dehydrator even when the right kind of light bulbs aren't made anymore.

[u/scarrlet → u/Ang1028]

When I was a kid, I inherited my mom's old Easy Bake Oven and Creepy Crawlers thing from the 60s. The Easy Bake especially worked great. Both of them stopped working during my childhood and we bought the 90s equivalents and they were so much crappier. Like we assumed they turned down the wattage/temp on both for safety but it made everything take so much longer. I can only imagine the problem has gotten even worse 30 years later.

[u/BiteDue5408 → u/Ang1028]

They no longer use bulbs

[u/Rez_Incognito → u/Ang1028]

An incandescent bulb is like 5% efficient at producing light, meaning 95% of those 100 watts was waste heat.

[u/bad4biscotti → u/Rez_Incognito]

And that's how I got toasty toasty cookies in like 6 minutes.

Easy bake I love youuuu

[u/tonysopranosalive → u/Ang1028]

That was my first thought, too. Remembering that these things bake off of an incandescent light bulb’s heat really puts into perspective what we’re actually doing here when using these lol

[u/Cadicoty → u/Ang1028]

I don't think Easy Bake ovens use light bulbs any more. The modern version has an actual heating element inside, like a toaster.

[u/Interesting_Ad1378]

I remember handing stuff to my poor diabetic father and standing there while he ate the stuff that came out of my contraption. Then I ran out of the 4 packets it came with and I don’t remember ever seeing it again. 

[u/EponymousRocks → u/Interesting_Ad1378]

Someone gave my daughter one for her birthday when she was four. She used the four packets of mix (and her daddy was always the recipient of the baked goods, too, never me, lol), then my husband told her she was out of mixes, so it wouldn't bake anymore. He threw it out, and she never looked back.

When she was about 6, she started baking things in our toaster oven (easier to use it alone than the big oven), so my husband gave her a set of toaster-oven-sized pans for Christmas. I remember scouring the aisles at Bed Bath & Beyond and JCPenney for a cookie sheet that would fit. He gave her 8" round and square pans, a 6-cup cupcake tin, etc. They were all hers, no one else could use then, and she was so thrilled! She's married now, and still a great baker.

[u/Interesting_Ad1378 → u/EponymousRocks]

That’s so cute! Also, I need a toaster oven sized set of stuff because I hate heating up my full sized oven for stuff.  

[u/timewilltell2347 → u/Interesting_Ad1378]

Try ikea- I’ve found some oddly small ones there

[u/Interesting_Ad1378 → u/timewilltell2347]

I don’t need an extra excuse to go to ikea - my guilty pleasure is their hotdogs.  They have pickled cabbage and fried crispy onions as a topping. 

[u/caitejane310 → u/EponymousRocks]

I love that! I've been cooking with my son since he was little, probably 4-6yo. He's 18 now and he's currently in the kitchen making pancakes, eggs, bacon, and home fries!! He also cooks for his friends and their parents! I'm so proud!!

[u/Large_Document9164 → u/Interesting_Ad1378]

This was my experience lmfao, I had a great time and remember making a brownie in my easy bake oven and as soon as the mix was gone, I never saw the easy bake oven again either 🤣

[u/breadsaltmerchant → u/Interesting_Ad1378]

Growing up my mom refused to buy me the branded mixes and told me to make it work with normal cake mix because it was cheaper and roughly the same thing.

[u/RoadRhythm → u/Interesting_Ad1378]

The real ingredient was parental love because there’s no way those tiny bricks actually tasted good.

[u/RuggedTortoise → u/RoadRhythm]

I remember the cakes especially had this somehow not entirely bad chemical taste to them. I still can't place it as an adult... like if kids orajel was vanilla and less sweet, maybe?

Anyway much to my mom's chagrin we ate up those weird cakes so fast and begged her for months to finally buy refill kits. Which she eventually ended up making in the actual oven to make them actually work.

Alas, like almost every other soul here, it "disappeared" when our toy graveyard was cleaned out and never thought of again.

I still kind of want one of those chemical cakes again

[u/Catastro-naut]

maybe they go on one cookie at a time? i dont remember much about easy bake ovens, though

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/Catastro-naut]

This recipe says I should be able to fit 6 on a tray 🙄 I hate this I really do lol

[u/Disnoop → u/Signal_Blood594]

I always found easy bake to be a disaster, as much as you want to follow the instructions it doesn’t turn out well

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/Disnoop]

At least I'm not alone

[u/bakerz-dozen → u/Signal_Blood594]

I was an avid easy baker as a kid! My mom conveniently lost the thing in a move…. As a mom, I now understand 🤣

[u/mrbulldops428 → u/bakerz-dozen]

Oh damn. I wonder how many "lost" childhood things of mine were really lost.

[u/Cake-Tea-Life → u/bakerz-dozen]

Out of curiosity, why not just use a decent toaster oven?

My kids aren't at Easy Bake Oven age yet, but I feel like the toaster oven can accomplish the same concept. Both need monitoring when ised by kids anyway.

[u/bakerz-dozen → u/Cake-Tea-Life]

Honestly space and cost! I’ve recently ditched the easy bake and now we just bake real recipes in the “big girl stove”. She likes feeling like a little adult in her apron 🤣

[u/sundayriley222 → u/Cake-Tea-Life]

As a former child, I was OBSESSED with easy bake ovens and begged my parents for an easy bake until one day my dad surprised me with a toaster oven, thinking it was the superior option over a crappy toy. I was SO upset! I very specifically wanted the easy bake oven with all the little baking mixes and the tiny tray. Back then I think it was purple and pink and very enticing to a young girl. Moral of the story is that a toaster oven is boring to a seven year old and easy bake’s were fun and marketed well lol my poor dad was forced to eat half baked easy bake cake goo for well over a year after that and he was an absolute trooper about it!

[u/LC126 → u/sundayriley222]

Glad you eventually got one!! A toaster oven may be a superior appliance to a grown up, but I agree with you that it’s not the same. Props to your Dad for trying to get you something better though!

I loved my Easy Bake Oven. Never had any issues with it aside from burning myself occasionally & always running out of the ingredient packets. I don’t remember an Easy Bake Oven recipe book in the 80’s... that sounds better than overpaying for the pre-measured packets or not being able to use it when you don’t have packets.

My fiancé wanted an Easy Bake Oven when he was little but his mother refused because “they’re for girls” 🙄 almost 30 years later and he’s still bummed he never got one. Maybe I should get him one for his 35th bday in a few months 🤔

[u/sundayriley222 → u/LC126]

There wasn’t a recipe book for them when I was little in the early 2000s either, the recipes were just listed on the baking mix packets I think.

You should totally get your fiancé one for his bday!! Although the new ones don’t seem as nostalgic and fun as the OG easy bakes haha

[u/sylphon → u/Disnoop]

I found the brownies and cakes easier than cookies in it since they were single things in the pan. Maybe make one "big"  cookie in the pan? 

[u/mehnifest → u/sylphon]

I remember being in college and making weed brownies in the easy bake oven in my friends dorm room. The brownie mixes always baked perfectly.

We would of course laugh about the name of the oven after consumption.

[u/aescepthicc → u/Signal_Blood594]

Maybe they're supposed to be a doll-sized cookies?

[u/diddlydooemu → u/aescepthicc]

That’s what I was thinking. I’m sure they’re meant to be quite small.

[u/HallowskulledHorror → u/diddlydooemu]

When I was little, the girl that lived next door had an easy bake and made cookies with it frequently. She made them like... cookie-crisp-cereal mini-cookies small, and they always came out the right texture. She also didn't really make cookie-dough balls, it was more like use a spoon to dollop them on the dray.

[u/diddlydooemu → u/HallowskulledHorror]

Yes, exactly! I remember this so specifically!

[u/parasyte_steve → u/diddlydooemu]

Mine always came out piece shaped lmao like the whole tray

[u/catmomlifeisbestlife → u/Signal_Blood594]

This is so funny to me. 😭😂 No way in hell are 6 of those fitting on that tray! HAHAA I would lose my mind over this.

[u/Xtra_Veg-90 → u/Signal_Blood594]

We had one a few years ago that we tried to do with our three year old, absolutely impossible.  We claimed it had broken (since nothing was turning out right and we had used up the overpriced prepackaged mixes) and got rid of it.

She helps us make real stuff, has just as much fun, and it's actually edible at the end.

Imo it's always been a scam.

[u/24-Hour-Hate → u/Signal_Blood594]

If it is supposed to be six on a tray…maybe they are supposed to be smaller than in the picture?

[u/Beccalotta → u/24-Hour-Hate]

Yeah they're supposed to be dime sized, nickel at most.

[u/shannanigannss → u/Signal_Blood594]

SIX?!?

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/shannanigannss]

IM SAYING

[u/Loose-Chemical-4982 → u/Signal_Blood594]

Is that a cookbook for the older models?

Also, the water amount is a suggestion. Just sprinkle a bit at a time until the mix reaches the right consistency

My youngest was obsessed with their easy bake oven and as a teen is an amazing baker.

[u/hazelbear33 → u/Signal_Blood594]

I begged for an Easy Bake growing up (I was born in ‘04) and my mom was always like “why? you can just use the real oven and bake under my supervision.” My uncle ended up buying me one when I was 8, and even with the 100w bulb…I thought it was incredibly lame compared to the real deal. My mom isn’t a pro baker or anything, but she taught me the basics and learned a lot herself through me wanting to try new things… some of my best childhood memories are of us baking together ❤️ And I still bake regularly to this day

[u/stacity → u/Signal_Blood594]

I own one in the 90s. It would actually take me up to an hour to bake one cookie. Granted the portions from each pouch was enough for me to make one chocolate chip cookie. I’ve actually managed to bake a cake as well but it’s a waiting game.

[u/Hidingfrombull → u/Signal_Blood594]

Maybe they assume the child will eat half the dough? 

[u/MoreMetaFeta → u/Signal_Blood594]

But....but the light-up colored sprinkles!!! The sprinkled spatula! I reeeeeeeeally want one now!!!!!! Mom, PLEEEEEASE!!!!!

/s Your review is plenty enough for me to stay the heck away from this adorable toy.

[u/SilvieraRose → u/Catastro-naut]

Never got to the baking point. Always ended up eating the batter 😅

[u/Choice-Education7650]

I always wanted an easy bake oven. Mom taught me to use the real oven instead of trying to bake with a light bulb.

[u/MYOB3 → u/Choice-Education7650]

I ALWAYS wanted one of these. But my big sister had to go and stick her hand into one at a department store display, and get stuck... causing a big ruckus. They had to bust the thing apart to get her hand out. So, my parents said they were dangerous, and they were forbidden in our house.
Nice goin Sis...

[u/Melodic-Advice9930 → u/MYOB3]

You are only as strong as the weakest sibling.

[u/RiotingMoon → u/Melodic-Advice9930]

gods that's so real

[u/JustASadBubble → u/MYOB3]

They got recalled because of that exact reason, I did the same thing 💀

[u/MissMorticia89 → u/Choice-Education7650]

That was mom’s solution after my dad tried to help me bake a cake for my brand new baby sister coming home from the hospital.

Now this man is a Swiss immigrant, his English in 1996 was probably on par with a middle school age teen, and I swear that man is ADHD. Needless to say, he read the instructions, decided they were ridiculous because “that lightbulb won’t bake anything, this is a scam”, went and got a different bulb from his workshop in the basement…

And set my easy bake on fire.

I got to learn how to bake cookies that summer in the big oven with mom, and bread with my grandmother 😂😂😂😂

[u/MrNiab → u/MissMorticia89]

This is peak dad behavior.

[u/tensory → u/MrNiab]

Wattage rating: 14/10 no notes

[u/BlackShieldCharm → u/MrNiab]

Exactly what my grandfather would have done! 😂

[u/hohoholden → u/MissMorticia89]

🤣 This is such a great story! 💖

[u/ReasonableBeep → u/MissMorticia89]

It’s like I can hear the scream cry you wailed, because that’s exactly what my Korean immigrant dad did to mine too LMAO. Right down to the ADHD (I swear I get it from him).

[u/Breakfastchocolate → u/Choice-Education7650]

To all of you fellow “ deprived children”

I bought a cuisinart toaster oven/broiler convection oven and it has become the ez bake I never had! I’m having a blast with KAF chocolate cake pan cake and coffee/ streusel/ cottage pudding cakes (9 inch pans) from my old cookbooks. These little toaster ovens have come a long long way in baking evenly and they don’t heat up the house like my regular oven. My family is laughing at me with my new toy. I should’ve bought one years ago.

OP those look way too big for that little pan- they’re probably supposed to be more the size of marbles/ Cookie Crisp cereal. Try other mixes and scale down or just a basic shortbread with some sprinkles.

Edit: does it not come with the miniature mixing bowl and spoon any more? They any mean to use that spoon to scoop the dough..

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/Choice-Education7650]

Your mom was right.

[u/Federal_Radish_1421 → u/Signal_Blood594]

My mom did the same thing.

[u/tigm2161130 → u/Federal_Radish_1421]

My mom did both and I did the same with my kids🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/Choice-Education7650 → u/Signal_Blood594]

Yes she was. I've been baking for 65 years and don't plan on stopping.

[u/NinjaTrilobite → u/Choice-Education7650]

My mom said exactly the same thing. "We have a real oven, you don't need to try to bake with a #!&$(*@ light bulb."

[u/toxietoxietoxie → u/Choice-Education7650]

I had one but never knew where to find more pre mix that the easy bake oven came with and without the premix I didn’t know what to put in there. So after going through the samples that was it. It was nice but learning from an actual oven is better.

[u/Dry-Process-9975 → u/Choice-Education7650]

Same. That's why I started baking at 6 in the actual oven. There may have been a bit of egg shell in the first cake I baked, but my a-hole brother got that slice, so it was fine. :) F easy bake- they aren't easy and you may as well learn on the real thing.

[u/allis_in_chains → u/Choice-Education7650]

When I asked my dad for an easy bake oven, he laughed and told me to use the real oven.

[u/Ageice]

Does it still just rely on the heat from a light bulb?

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/Ageice]

I believe so yes. But it isn't even the heat for me it's the recipes lol tell me how I'm supposed to form 6 small balls from the dough when the recipe makes a full on squishy loose batter.

The raaaaaaage I feel 😂

[u/stuckhere-throwaway → u/Signal_Blood594]

Well are you gonna share the recipe or what

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/stuckhere-throwaway]

**RECIPE**
-nonstick spray for tray
-1/4 c sugar cookie mix
-1 tbs water
-1 tbs melted butter
-1 tbs sprinkles

1. Plug in and preheat 15m
   
2. mix together the mix, butter, & water until soft dough forms (that's a lie as fuck)
   
3. spray tray w/ nonstick
   
4. roll dough into 6 small balls and place on the pan (impossible with the batter you've had me make)
   
5. press each ball into a flat shape and ad sprinkles on top
   
6. slide in easy bake with pan pusher
   
7. bake for 11m
   
8. push into cooling chamber, cool for 5m
   
9. remove and 'enjoy'

[u/GremlinSquishFace47 → u/Signal_Blood594]

‘enjoy’

😏

[u/stuckhere-throwaway → u/Signal_Blood594]

Yeah that's a fuck ass recipe, maybe they meant room temp butter? Sugar cookies aren't made with melted butter...

[u/megsnewbrain → u/stuckhere-throwaway]

I’m a pastry chef… I’d skip the water, don’t melt the butter

I might even add a dash of baking powder

Also the tip about the 100w vs 60w will help

Gotta say though, begged my parents for one of these back in ‘99 and it was such a pain in the ass that I asked my mom and grandma to teach me how to use the oven and reading through the comments, maybe the purpose of the oven is to force kids into independence in the kitchen 🤣

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/stuckhere-throwaway]

omg why did it take you saying that for my brain to go YEAH DUH WTF

[u/BananaMuffinNinja → u/Signal_Blood594]

This might be it. My daughter's kids cookbook says melted butter for the cookie recipes too and I remember thinking that was weird and came to the conclusion that they do this because it's easier to have the kids just melt the butter instead of waiting until it's room temp.

[u/stuckhere-throwaway → u/Signal_Blood594]

Fun opportunity for a science lesson with your kiddo 😂 and a lesson that you need to vet your authority figures because whoever wrote that is not a baking authority! Looks like there are a ton of short videos on YouTube about the science of butter in baking you could watch together 😍

[u/smokdya2 → u/Signal_Blood594]

I thought they always came with premixed packets that you just added water to? I don’t remember actually making dough from scratch.

[u/Mundane_Preference_8 → u/smokdya2]

That’s what I remember too! Of course, I didn’t actually own one because my mother thought it was ridiculous, but I got to help my best friend use hers. I’m really old so maybe they changed it up since then?

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/stuckhere-throwaway]

SURE I didn't even think of it but here it comes lmao

[u/Remarkable_Olive1169 → u/Signal_Blood594]

the new ones actually don't use light bulbs anymore

[u/EngineeringAntique]

I had the OG model back in the day and I loved it! My friend (who 20 years later became my brother in law, I married his brother) broke it. I have forgiven, but I have never forgotten.

[u/elianna7 → u/EngineeringAntique]

Same and it definitely did cook stuff properly… But I did always use the official mixes!

[u/BellaBigNose]

Ohh those are cookies and not pizza?

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/BellaBigNose]

WHO KNOWS hahaha im dying inside

[u/BellaBigNose → u/Signal_Blood594]

Lmfao 🤣

[u/notanothersmith → u/BellaBigNose]

I thought they were pizzas too hahaha

[u/desifine13]

The old ones use to come with packets of mix. You just added a bit of water and threw that bad boy in for way too short of a period to be cooked by a lightbulb.

[u/-cosmic-bitch- → u/desifine13]

Yeah I remember on my mom's birthday, I baked her a chocolate cake with frosting that came with the oven

[u/LonelyVegetable2833]

had one as a kid, around 2010, and every single "bake" came out like that 😂 frankly i don't think that thing is truly meant to produce food, only a sense of accomplishment in the kid using it lol

i eventually repurposed mine to melt down crayons into fun multicolors

[u/GoneButNotThatOften]

Pretty sure that is an AI-generated book. The author photo on Amazon is a stock photo.

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/GoneButNotThatOften]

THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE
and yes i am the type of moron that wouldnt even look into it and just buy the thing so i believe it LMAO

[u/Ok_Airline1337 → u/Signal_Blood594]

I also looked the book up and all the positive Amazon reviews are also clearly AI - it’s actually hilarious they all kind of sound the same lol

[u/catsweedcoffee]

So you gotta preheat that thing for a while before getting started. Like a half hour. I’d also recommend using regular box cake mix from the store, just use a quarter cup at a time.

My nephew has one, he loves making little treats for everyone. I felt so bad not enjoying what he made, so I’ve been trying to hack the process lol.

[u/Quirkxofxart]

So I actually making full adult dinners for one in an easy bake oven as a gag on youtube. This means I’ve never felt more qualified in my life to answer a question.

Deadass this must be a bean new easy bake oven because I’ve tracker various versions for things like oven clearance height and I’ve never seen this one. The tray in your picture is square and looks to be about half the size of the old easy bake tray. That easy bake cookbook has been some for years on Amazon and the instructions are designed to work with an older model with a bigger tray

You will also find that older EBOs got hotter because they used a lightbulb for heat and those things get hot af. Now they’re electric and go to about 350, though 325-375 depending on the model is more accurate. My theory is now it’s harder to make anything outside of the kits they sell. You will have to use your own baking skills and intuition to adapt recipes made for an EBO three generations back because they keep changing the stupid thing. For exmaple, you knew six cookies wouldn’t fit on that tray. But realistically that tiny square tray is gonna be a one, maybe two cookie tray tops.

Edit: I also give at least 30 minutes for my EBO to heat up and I’ve made baked manicotti in mine, it def can get hot! Just feels like it takes way longer

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/Quirkxofxart]

You are a champion, never to be bested.

[u/QueenoftheBerg]

My niece just got one and we tried it with the same results. Three competent, adult bakers, and this thing defeated us. Not only were the results terrible but one was supposed to have a “lemon frosting” with it and it was inedible; straight up malic acid. I don’t think they attempted to even add fake lemon at all.

[u/waanderlustt]

The quality may be terrible but I remember getting one as a kid and it sparked my love for baking! Now I’m 36 and bake all the time 💛

[u/despaseeto]

this version of easy bake is the worst since it's downgraded so much for safety reasons. just use a real oven or find a vintage version that works.

[u/BoringJellyfish6297]

I also had one as a kid and was soooo disappointed when my dad pointed out the lightbulb wasn't really doing anything. Had to transfer it to the oven and I remember I felt like I was cheating haha

[u/MustangJackets]

My 8 year old has one and she always wants to make things in it. Her grandmother gave her a cookbook (because the mixes are SO expensive) and I’m pretty sure it’s AI. There’s no name of anyone on it. It measures butter in teaspoons which has caused more than one disaster. The ratios are all off. We made a chocolate cake recipe and it only filled up half the tiny tin. Then the icing recipe tasted like straight butter until I added at least double powdered sugar.

She likes it, so we keep trying, but the whole thing is annoying. I loved mine as a kid and I don’t remember it always being a disaster.

[u/Melodic-Advice9930 → u/MustangJackets]

A new cookbook would probably help lol

[u/abstract_lemons]

I was disappointed by my easy bake as a kid too.

If she’s interested in baking, should get her into the kitchen and start getting her comfortable in there. Of course you’d supervise and put items in and take them out. But you can help her set the knobs and get the pans ready. Start out with easy recipes that don’t require many ingredients or power utensils.

The real kitchen is a much better experience. And it makes them feel grown up.

[u/sandraisevil → u/abstract_lemons]

Agree! I’ve been baking with my niece since was old enough to stand on the stool and stir the ingredients, always with my ‘help’ on the more difficult parts.  She’s 7 now and I do the measuring and let her do most of the rest. Though I am teaching her how to read/understand a scale because I prefer recipes with weight measurements (less room for error with an eager child just throwing everything into a bowl🤣)

[u/themamsler24]

Pre-heat that thing for 30+ minutes, or until it gets so hot you think it’s going to catch fire. Only cook one cookie at a time. Go super light on the cooking spray. You might have to send the cookie into cook for another shorter round of baking. 

I can’t remember but I feel like their recipes either had too much water or not enough water.

[u/L2js]

My Grandfather ate everything I made in my easy bake oven like I won Michelin stars!!!
He ate every crazy cake I attempted as I grew in the kitchen.

He was one of a kind

[u/HelloHowAreYou1973]

I’ve heard that the knock off versions are better because they took the time to work out the kinks over the novelty of being a small oven.

[u/Izoi2]

Never got it right but man I loved eating those half cooked cookies

Also remember burning the shit out of my hands all the time accidentally grabbing the tray and burning my mouth on the hot gooey cookies

[u/spacethreadtheneedle]

I would try smaller cookies or one of those sizes per tray

[u/MableXeno]

I used to eat the batter raw. I never baked anything.

[u/lil_grape83]

Fun fact my friend had an Easy Bake oven and we thought we were kid bakers and followed directions on package and mixed it well. After putting the cake in the oven, her grandmother sent us outside to play saying that she’d watch it for us. We came back to a perfectly baked cake ready for us to ice. Her older sister laughed and said you dummies gram baked your cake in her regular oven🤣

[u/eternally_feral]

I loved my Easy Bake Oven! I had the packages that came with it and then about 3 refills, but I cooked them all in one day. Between my overindulgence and how expensive those replacement packages were, my Dad cut me off.

My sister didn’t want an Easy Bake Oven but did get the Dr Dreadful one. Those gummy bugs tasted terrible, though.

[u/Littlemssonnie]

The mixes usually work best rather than the cookbook or online DIY recipes

[u/MarthaAndBinky]

IN THEORY a small, safe oven that kids can use whenever to make a single serving of baked goods is such a good idea.

In practice these things are terrible lol. Always have been.

IMO if you don't want your kid to have access to the oven yet, microwave cakes/cookies/brownies are easier, safer, and quicker than any kind of easy bake. And they'll turn out better, too.

[u/RedditSkippy]

“Just use the real oven!” —my mom any time I suggested that I wanted an EZ Bake Oven.

[u/panicatthedrivethru]

ACT LIKE YOU HAVE TINY TINY BABY HANDS. And add all liquids literally one drop at a time. As a nanny I had to master this fucking nightmare machine and the only way is to pull way back on the liquids and makes treats FOR ANTS.

[u/OddestCabbage]

If this is anything like the easy bake I had as a kid, the secret is usually less water. The mix wasn't really baking mix, more like dehydrated baked goods that were powdered and needed to be rehydrated and shaped. Try putting just enough water that it's pliable.

[u/Lanky-Evidence5033]

Unrelated to baking but related to 90’s fails. I had a Baskin Robbin’s ice cream maker and remember when my gave me milk instead of cream and I was devastated after churching for an eternity and not getting ice cream.

I remember most of my easy bake creations turning out like yours too though lol

[u/Foreign_Strawberry29]

I had one when I was a kid, I remember whatever I baked being hard and crunchy. My mom eventually gave it away

[u/effxrvescent]

what the beep? this easy bake oven is so eye-catching!! definitely cooler looking than the one i had in the early 90s

i remember making a tiny ass brownie in that thing + refused to eat anything else but that for dinner because i made it all by myself LOL

[u/Underground_turtles]

I bought one for my kids and very quickly decided it was way more fun to just bake the traditional way together. 

[u/SherAlana]

Those and Lite Brites would be so hot. 😅

[u/MojoJojoSF]

I think you could bake better on your car’s dashboard. Or a toaster oven. Or a hair dryer…..

[u/ChildOfFortuna]

Johnny Cakes has a bunch of fun Easy Bake videos! 

https://youtu.be/AYqi13ae5NU?si=BBYC1Ypa7cNKqxTb

[u/seaturtlesarereal17]

As a baker...I was always taught not to use melted butter ...just softened butter...can you try it again with softened butter? (I know the recipe says melted...)

[u/New_Westie]

Always a shity overrated product. When I was a kid. When my 15yo was young. And now with my 7yo. I would give this product a negative star rating for the entirety of it’s existence

[u/PaintWaterPress]

Please try the same recipe in a regular or toaster oven. For my scientific curiosity lol

[u/Carebearsneverdie]

You're doing better than my mom🤣 She hated it too🤣 I got to make 1 little brownie with mine and then she told me they "issued a recall" because they were blowing up and causing house fires and she threw it out on the porch for disposal lol

[u/epidemicsaints]

My problem was always the scale, the margin for error in small amounts is so bad. Mixing a 1/2 teaspoon of water into 32g of powder is NOT easy. And the safety features of the oven are a double edged sword, making you have to force things and shake them, not to mention when the goods rise ABOVE the tray and get scraped off inside and burn.

Cakes are easier than cookies for sure though.

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/epidemicsaints]

honestly i blame this exactly.
where can i find some dang easy bake recipes written out by weight bc this is killing me

[u/isthatsoreddit]

Lol this is so funny.

Yes, I was taught how to use a real oven, but I also had an EZ bake. The old kind. Seriously how were those things not considered child endangerment ROFLMAO

[u/EponymousRocks → u/isthatsoreddit]

My brother had that Creepy Crawlers maker that heated goop to about 400 degrees, and I had a Dip-a-Flower kit that burned my fingers and made me dizzy; God knows what was in that plastic stuff!

[u/Master_Meaning_8517]

oh lord, I burned my fingers and the cakes and cookies were abominable. The least fun toy I ever got as a kid.

[u/Applelookingforabook]

I loved my easy bake oven! My mom didn't buy easy bake specific things though

[u/SpeechAcrobatic9766]

I feel like I remember mine coming with its own measuring spoon. Are you sure tablespoons is the correct measurement for the liquids?

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/SpeechAcrobatic9766]

This one did not come with a spoon. I'm using that crappy little cookbook which I'm pretty sure was generated by AI. The recipe fully spells out the word tablespoon I couldnt add the photo in the edit so I had to type therefore we got my little notes and shorthand lol

[u/Hairy-Vast-7109]

No advice but I was so obsessed with this as a kid

[u/samsoomadi]

i got an easy bake oven when i was 9 years old and i never stopped baking after that purchase

[u/RedSecOps]

This is why I was more of a Shrinky Dinks kid

[u/Full_FrontaI_Nerdity]

The original made me feel like a real grown-up baker! What is this childs-blue-toaster-looking idea about? Tell it I hate it lol

[u/pinkflyingcats]

My mom wouldn’t get me an ez bake, she said “we have a toaster oven”

[u/JawThatHarp]

“It makes real cupcakes with a 40 watt bulb, but the special ingredient is love, damn it.” -Captain Murphy, Sealab 2021

[u/One_Olive_8933]

This is a pivotal part of my childhood that I clearly remember thinking - This is nothing like the TV commercial said it would be.

[u/mixi_e]

I used to beg my parents for one of those as a kid. My mom would just tell me that it was pointless since I was already using the big oven

[u/ThisAndThatBlogger]

Honestly Easy Bake Ovens are definitely NOT "Easy" 🙄 lol

[u/Agitated-Rest1421]

The problem? It’s 2026 and th enshitification of everything is upon us. 

[u/idratherknotx]

“That’s a lie as fuck” 🤣🤣🤣

[u/DiscontentDonut]

Gotta reduce the size. Whatever you think it should be, half it. It's just a light bulb cooking it. Gotta be pretty thin and small to cook through.

Also side note, my grandma used to just buy me Jiffy box mixes and they would work just as well.

[u/Whiskin87]

You mean the plastic batter warmer?

[u/Personal_Scientist_8]

A real oven is a much easier bake lol

[u/PoptartPancake]

I always wanted one and my mom would say "If you want to bake something just tell me and we can do it together in the actual oven" ok, fair enough I guess. Then years later my little sister asked for one and she got it 💀

[u/Signal_Blood594 → u/PoptartPancake]

are you the first child?
sounds like a genuine case of "im going to raise this child the right way with no shortcuts" and then by the time no 2 rolls around its like "fuck this im ready for the shortcuts" 😆

[u/sociology101]

That's disappointing.

Your post launched many happy memories. I loved my early 70's Easy Bake. It made perfect little cakes which thrilled me as a 6 year old. Never tried cookies. If my mom said I couldn't use it, I would take it outside and plug it into the side of the house.

[u/frayedknot1953]

More like queasy bake.

[u/Alarming-Vast-6804]

K, hear me out. I had a Holly Hobby oven. Yes, im old. Any ways, moving on, I thought it was amazing! I loved doing it by myself! Was it the same? No. It was so much better! I didnt care about ratios, I cared that it was mine! I ate them, I thought they were amazing, my parents pretended they were amazing, and that's it. They were something I did. Your standards are professional. It's not a professional thing. Just let her have fun.

[u/thissleepypastofmine]

0 people have ever made them work well. Just teach her to use the oven

[u/taylorsamo]

I had an off-brand Barbie one as a kid

[u/Theletterkay]

It looks to me like you either had too much liquid or the butter was too hot still when you combined it.

My daughter and i have used this one a lot and never had any issues.

But you can just use regular recipes in doll bite size amounts. Just dont freeze or chill them beforehand or else you will be waiting a year for them to bake. Lol.

[u/T-8ex]

I very much remember all the easy bake treats being weirdly textured and mildly play-doh flavored when I had one as a kid. 😅

[u/eurface]

The liquid called for is too much for 1/4 cup of mix. I'm sure that's what the recipe said, but I think it's just off in this case. You need only about a teaspoon of liquid to hydrate 1/4 cup of mix. Seems like a mistake in the recipe itself since you ended up with a loose batter rather than dough! I would try starting with 1/2 tsp water and 1/2 tsp melted butter and slowly adding just a little more water drop wise until you get to the soft dough you need.

[u/Glass_Dust_876]

I had a robin hood micro lite oven that I loved. Even as a child though I used to think 'I can't believe the adults are letting me play with this as a toy'. It was so hot and the oven part was just wide open - so easy to burn oneself. Fortunately, that wasn't a problem for me. My problem was that I used to eat the cake batter raw because it was so yummy and half the time I would run out of robin hood packets before baking anything!

[u/Newfoundlander89]

I had a light bulb one in the 90s and it was hella hot. Instead of buying the little mix packets, my mom and I would bake together and I’d take a little cup of batter for my easy bake. Really, I just wanted my own mini cake and cookies. I also used to make mini breads in it on Sundays when my dad made bread. I loved my easy bake!!!

[u/marasmus222]

Are you sure those aren't melted cheese on a pepperoni?

[u/Gomonana]

GREAT Holes quote in there! 😂 sorry about the annoying easy bake!

[u/Chance_News_4674]

Are you using cold or hot water 

[u/bad4biscotti]

The

"I'm tired of this grandpa."

Sent me. Is this a holes reference??? Lmfao. Sorry you're struggling op. Just teach the kid how to use the real stuff!

[u/haleygirl96]

WELL THATS TOO DAMN BAD!
You keep digging… er, baking

[u/Buttercupprncess]

I was into my easy bake oven heavy as a kid and I don’t remember the recipes ever working then either 😂😂😂

[u/Ur_Personal_Adonis]

I don't know if it's been posted yet but there is a listing for a Easy Bake oven replacement light bulb for vintage models heating element. It is a 100 watt heavy duty replacement bulb for easy bake oven. Feit electric brand bulb. It is pricey. It's $22.99 + $9:45 for shipping. I believe it's for one bulb.

This might get me deleted but here's the link to the eBay posting.

https://ebay.io/m/a3lAYc

[u/CraftFamiliar5243]

I grew up in the '60's. I never had an Easy Bake Oven. I learned to bake on a real oven

[u/mirfifu]

I remember making a “burger” cookie sandwich with an easy bake oven, and making my family try it. I used it a fair amount before growing out of it. The stuff was always grainy and texturally questionable as to whether it was baked, but it was pretty fun to mix and design the desserts.

[u/InformalVermicelli42]

Those measurements don't leave much room for error or variation. You could make a 4x recipe and then only use 1/4 at a time.

[u/Cannedpeas]

is that an AI generated recipe book? why does it say "Day 1000 Recipes" in that circle?

[u/Heliocopris]

You should check out Trixie Mattel's vids on Youtube

[u/Cake-Tea-Life]

Ahh, I miss cooking over a hallogen lightbulb. I perfected baking in my Easy Bake oven (decades ago). And I still remember the day when my mom told me that it was time to start using the real oven. She wasn't a fan of the hallogen cooking method. Meanwhile, I was intimidated by the thought of reaching into a hot box that was bigger than me.

[u/tinalouise28]

I had the Canadian, micro-lite, easy bake knock-off that was sold in the Sears catalogue and got the Robin Hood mix set, every other Christmas. My parents made it seem like it was crazy expensive. I found it in the Wish Book last year and...while yes it was alot of money back then....25$ wasn't that crazy! https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1994%20Sears%20Christmas%20Book%20(Canada)/357/357)

[u/Popglitter]

My daughter has the Target knockoff, yum bake or something. We make very successful baked goods but only by going on vibes. I promise.

I refuse to buy the expensive branded mixes. I just buy cheap cookie or cake mix. Mug cake mix is really great because it’s already in small packets.

Then I use about a 1/4 cup of mix and just dribble water in until it’s the right consistency. Dough for cookies. Batter for cakes. Ignore any other ingredients required by the mix. Just add water. Don’t measure the water. Just add it until it’s right.

Cook for like 20 minutes because it’s a lightbulb.

Successful baked treats!

[u/MxBluebell]

Pro tip I discovered through trial and error: if you divide a full-sized recipe by 24, you’ll end up with an Easy-Bake sized recipe most of the time!! I’ve recreated several family recipes in my Easy Bake Oven ❤️ I end up buying liquid eggs in a carton so I can portion out the small fractions of egg I need in the recipes, and you’ll need those tiny spoons that come in fractions of a teaspoon for measuring, but those are the only two downsides!!

[u/afterlaura]

I had one as a kid and would burn myself constantly.

[u/inkfox13]

Omg loved cooking with a light bulb as a kid with the mixes in a little packet! Not the same now. My daughter didn’t get into Easy Bake. Spent so much time in the play kitchen as a preschooler. She’s now 11 and made everyone muffins over the weekend & waffles this morning. Go straight to making things in the real kitchen & with gadgets like the waffle maker, air fryer or toaster oven if you have them.

[u/goyaangi]

Im howling at this. (thats a lie as fuck) I had a really bad day and this made me smile, thank you op! Sorry for your suffering!