Mom’s hidden candy stash melts into Dutch oven disaster
Photo Credit: Kris McKenna Martin
In one of the most relatable sourdough posts ever, Kris McKenna Martin gave the internet a real treat—literally—after sharing a hilarious baking mishap in the Sourdough for Beginners Facebook group.
“Heated my dutch oven but forgot I hid a plastic bag full of mini candy bars. House smells great though,” Kris wrote.
Along with it, she posted the evidence—a web of melted plastic stretched over a pile of sad, misshapen mini candy bars. It was a scene that screamed both victory (because: candy) and defeat (because: plastic soup).
The post went viral, racking up 21,000 reactions and nearly 800 comments. Probably because, as it turns out, forgetting your secret snack stash is way more common than we all want to admit.
Tara Barbas commented, “I’ve hidden things so good before that I forgot about them too 😂,” while Stacia’s Sweet Treats chimed in, “👋 guilty of this 😬 deer jerky tho ugh, it also smelled good 🤣.” Liz Coen LaVoie added, “OMG my kids hid gummy snacks in my DO 😂.”
Honestly, the solidarity was strong.
Mark Coloca-Eures perfectly captured the collective mood with his comment: 🎶“oh no, oh no no no no no”🎶
Moms like Dawn McDermid totally got it too: “Tell me you’re a mom without telling me you’re a mom 😆.”
Then there were the cautious folks like Georgianne Ashley Summer, who didn’t quite understand it: “Never in a million years would I have thought so many people don’t look inside their pots or ovens before heating… y’all must not live where the big bugs grow… being terrified of ‘palmetto bugs’ from childhood… I look in everything. 😂😂😂”
Of course, some commenters saw a silver lining (jokingly… I think). Carol N Greg declared, “Shucks! Now you have to eat them 🤷🏻♀️,” and Jessica Wiley Pendergraft joked, “🤷♀️ inclusions. The universe has spoken 🤣😂🤣.”
Meanwhile, Kelly Reid had some next-level candy-hiding advice: “Hide candy in the vegetable drawer… works like a charm 🥂,” while Erin Stevenson upped the ante: “Girl, put your candy in a bag of frozen peas. Neither kids nor husband want that.”
Even Meta’s AI got in on the fun, offering a very earnest (and slightly hilarious) suggestion: “According to the post, it seems that forgetting a plastic bag of mini candy bars in a heated Dutch oven can make the house smell great!
But if you’re looking for a more intentional way to make your Dutch oven smell amazing, you could try baking some delicious treats like bread, cookies, or cinnamon rolls in it!”
(Thanks for the tip, robot.)
But if you want to avoid this altogether, Robin Rush had the most practical advice: “Store the lid upside down so you have to open it to right the lid and will see anything inside it.”
And if you’re wondering about the state of Kris’s Dutch oven? Fellow group members came to the rescue with cleaning tips involving steel wool, gloves, and a lot of elbow grease.
At the end of the day, mishaps like these are just another reminder that behind every perfect sourdough loaf you see on Instagram, there’s usually a real-life kitchen disaster (or in this case, a chocolate one) not too far behind. And honestly? That’s what makes baking—and life—so sweet.
Moral of the story: Don’t preheat your Dutch oven without checking it first.
Other news: One extra stir and her sourdough starter went wild—bakers can’t believe it
