Well you didn't mention pie but we had one a few years back. This was
a pumpkin pie.  I had my three children helping out.  I said something
like:  I need allspice but I don't think that I have any, but check
anyway.  My son pipes up, "yes, we have it."  And dumps some in.  We
went on to make another pie when I noticed SeasonAll sitting there.  I
said, "You didn't put that in the pie, did you?"  "Well, yes that's
what you asked for." So on Thanksgiving day I cut a piece from both
pies.  Everyone preferred the Seasonal pie!  (SeasonAll has a chief
ingredient of salt which is something that I do not normally add to
anything. The pie wasn't ruined at all.)

LOL,

Vickie B>

cooked a standing rib roast one year (not very long ago). seasoned it, put
it in a low heat oven and monitored the temp pretty closely so it would come
out tender and juicy. That baby was the toughest piece of meat I ever had!
Cut the bones off and gave them to the dogs. The meat I cut into tiny little
pieces and threw them in a pot full of beef stock and veggies. The only time
in my life I've ever had prime rib soup!
GaryZ

I have an enthusiastic following for my homemade caramels (recipe available
on request) from friends and family- they are REALLY good!  Folks start
asking for them in the early fall.

Last year I broke my glass candy thermometer, so I bought a new one.  I made
a batch of caramels.  It didn't set up.  I made a second batch, it didn't
set up.  On and on getting more frantic with each failed batch.  I made FIVE
batches that didn't set up.  Now this recipes makes 2.5 lbs. of caramels, so
I now have 12.5 POUNDS of caramel sauce!  Yes, it's wonderful to dip apple
slices in it.  And, yes, it's wonderful on ice cream.  But 12.5 *POUNDS* of
caramel sauce???

Then, finally, I got smart and checked my thermometer in boiling water.  It
was off by four degrees.  It's amazing how important those four little
degrees really are!  Now they are asking if I have any caramel sauce for
them this year.....  (sigh)

Leslie

I once was making a cake I wanted it to be colorful. Took white cake mix,
and the colored candies to put in it, trying to make it like the angel food
confetti cakes. Well never ever use a mixer to mix in that candy. It melts.
;-) So I had a purple cake. So I figured well I still want the colored parts
so I put more in and just mixed them with a spoon.

So I had a beautiful purple cake with multi colors running thru it.

The family was not impressed, I was. ;-)

No Christmas goodies tales, but we did discover our crisp peanut butter
cookies recipe through a mistake.  My brother, the olderst kid, was (and
still is!) nuts about crunchy stuff.  He always wanted *crisp* cookies.  
Mother had tried many variations and couldn't get peanut butter cookies that
met his standards.  (I think they were enjoying the experimenting!  heehee)  
Then one day there was a sortage of flour.  She made up a batch with what she
had on hand.  They came out crisp, just what they'd ben wanting!  I forget
how much less flour it was, though I still have the recipe.  Mike and I just
don't *need* cookies  around the house, if you know what I mean!

now cinnamon cheesecake intrigues me - I wonder what it would be like with
cinnamon oil rather then the powdered.

One Thanksgiving, I was making a pumpkin chiffon pie.  The page got flipped
over during the hustle in the kitchen and I continued with the recipe for
pumpkin meringue.  I noticed the error after adding another ingredient,
mainly because I had made the pie for many Thanksgivings and kind of knew
the ingredients.  I looked at it and went oh oh.  My mom asked what happened
and I told her.
We looked at the two recipes and adjust a bit of this liquid and a bit of
that solid and it turned out pretty well.  Of course, the family has never
let me forget the pumpkin chifringue!  I could never make it again because
we kind of winged it to make the corrections, and I'd never be able to
remember where I switched recipes!!!

your responses were fun!<smiling>  thanks for sharing!

kate
i don't know about most/many of you, but i do know me.  over the many years
that we've celebrated the holidays, i had the honor of being the chief baker
and goodies maker.  now, i don't claim to be the best cook in the world, and
sometimes i get quite distracted and/or forgetful while mixing up and
cooking/baking these things.  so, some of my "attempts" have been
"interesting"<smile> and some of those mistakes have become the most
requested goodies and treats this time of year.  so . . . here's the survey
and i'll share my mistakes first:

1.  what classic/traditional holiday cake did you start out to make and
wound up making something that was not like it was supposed to turn out, for
whatever reason?

            my first mistake was forgetting to buy the amber rum for a
classic rum cake.  so, i used what i had on hand -- 180 proof everclear and
3 bottles of rum extract, instead.  oh, yeah.  i did.

2.  what was the reaction to your cake?

            in this case, everybody had great fun making jokes and teasing
me about its potency.  some pretended to look for the state liquor stamp on
the cake server; some'd open the lid and pretend to pass out because of the
fumes, or say they heard the revenuers knocking and silly/fun/funny stuff
like that.

3.  how did it turn out?

           actually, it was beautiful to look at, but it was STRONGLY
flavored and strongly aromatic.   oddly, nobody wanted to pass up a slice of
it, for some reason, especially the guys.  and it was gone before i knew it.
i don't think i got a chance to taste it for myself the first time.

4.  did anybody ever request that you make it again?  and did you keep and
write down your "new" creation's recipe with the mistake included?

           yes, it was requested, many times.  but i only made it when i
knew new people would be in the crowd, because of the fun it generated that
first time.  i didn't have to write it down, because they wouldn't have let
me forget how i made it.<g>

5.  cookies?  same followup questions.

6.  cheesecake?  same followup questions.

         well, this mistake was caused by distraction.  my recipe called
for a dash of cinnamon in the cheesecake souffle batter and right below that
ingredient, 3 tablespoons of sugar in the sour cream topping.  i put 3
tablespoons of cinnamon in the batter, instead of just a dash, but made the
rest of the recipe correctly.  as soon as i realized what i had done, i was
going to throw it out, without baking it.  my mother wouldn't let me.  she
said, "great recipes are sometimes made by mistake."  so, i baked it, but i
also made another cheesecake the correct way, thinking NOBODY is going to
eat a cinnamon cheesecake.  wrong.  the mistake was the first cheesecake to
be devoured completely.  it actually tasted ok, though i wasn't impressed.
i never made it again, though, no requests.  so, i don't think it was all
that memorable for everybody.LOL

7.  a beverage?  same followup questions.

8. a confection, like fudge or divinity?  same followup questions.

9.  a dip or spread?  same followup.

10.  or any other holiday recipe that i haven't covered?  same followup.