Things not to make at home

I love baking, cooking, and the related arts (explosions, fire, smoke, visits from the local firefighters or those nice people from the Health Department, food poisoning...).  If you can buy it in a store, you can probably make it at home with a little trouble and creativity (and google), this is a great option for the health conscious, those who love the culinary arts, those with allergies, or those looking to save a little bit on groceries, but there are definitely a few things I've discovered that are best left to the experts.  Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.  I can certainly remove large, nasty tumors from a variety of mammalian species but doing that to myself would not be considered wise.  There's nothing wrong with attempting just about anything food-wise at home however (though it does occasionally involve sharp pointy objects and heat producing implements) and if you are the adventurous sort, want a challenge, or a fun family project, by all means give it a try, but here are a few things I've discovered are far more economical and less mess to just buy outright:

Tortillas: I've finally mastered the homemade tortilla but they are putzy and messy (though very tasty) and since they are really cheap in the store for very decent quality this is an easy one to buy by the 20 pack!

Wonton wrappers: see tortillas, they are cheap and really a mess to make.

Croissants: delicious but it takes 8 hours to make a dozen that are gone in 5 minutes, do the math!

Puff pastry dough: see croissants.

Most candy: candy is definitely an art I have not mastered, though I love microwave fudge variations but beyond that (i.e. taffy, caramels...) it might be better to leave this to a professional!  The constant stirring over a hot stove is a turn off as is the ease with which you can under cook or scorch it.

Jam: unless you have a very prolific tree or a large berry patch, between buying fruit and the mess, this can be an expensive disaster.

Narrow pasta: I make lasagna noodles all the time, but fettuccine gets a little tedious, unless you have one of those machines.

Lefse (or other ethnic specialties your grandmother from the Old Country did not personally teach you to make that will be eaten by someone else from the Old Country): I married a Norwegian, that doesn't mean I have the slightest idea of how to make (or inclination to make) a potato tortilla.  Don't even get me started on lutefisk (though krumkake is pretty easy and tasty).

Head cheese: go eat a hot dog, unless of course you need to use up that pig's head in your pantry!

I'm sure there are a bunch of things I'm missing, but that will get you started (or not, actually!).