Subway Cookie Experiment Goes Awry

Maybe some ideas are better left unbaked.

Recently, influencers attempted to capitalize on the heat wave in New York by trying to bake cookies at subway stations. Matt Peterson, in a viral Instagram video, confidently stated, “It’s almost 100 degrees in New York, so we’ll see if we can bake these chocolate chip cookies,” while waving a tray of cookie dough.

On a day last week, temperatures hit about 88 degrees Fahrenheit, with subway platforms often feeling even hotter—over 100 degrees during summer months due to poor ventilation.

In an effort to test whether this underground heat could bake cookies, Peterson placed his tray of dough in an undisclosed subway area. “I found a good hidden area,” he told his 300,000 followers. “I’ll leave them here. Come back tonight. See if they’ll bake.”

However, viewers were quick to express doubts. Many believed that rats and other critters might reach the dough long before any baking could occur. Comments ranged from disbelief to warnings about subway germs, with one person jokingly mentioning the city’s infamous “pizza rats.”

To keep his cookie experiment from being too compromised, Peterson followed up with another video, explaining that he had kept an eye on the cookies to prevent theft.

This wasn’t his first unconventional baking attempt—he previously left cookie dough on a Port-a-Potty at Coachella, which didn’t fare well, as bathroom users inadvertently ruined the batch.

After eight hours, Peterson returned to check on his subway cookies. He claimed there was a slight change but admitted that some still looked “pretty raw.” One passerby even noted they appeared undercooked.

Realizing they resembled “Cookie Ceviche,” Peterson laughed off the situation while someone on Instagram aptly labeled the stunt as a “half-baked idea.”

Culinary experts pointed out that cookies typically bake best at temperatures between 325 and 375 degrees—much hotter than a subway. In contrast, some adventurous foodies have successfully cooked with unconventional methods, like Arizona Park Rangers who used their car’s dashboard to bake banana bread during a heat wave.

In that instance, the bread reached over 211 degrees Fahrenheit, making for an interesting twist on cooking methods, though the finished product still looked a bit rough inside.