diff --git a/lib/cookie.c b/lib/cookie.c
index e0e5cf99b..941623f9d 100644
--- a/lib/cookie.c
+++ b/lib/cookie.c
@@ -1571,18 +1571,18 @@ static char *get_netscape_format(const struct Cookie *co)
  *
  * The function returns non-zero on write failure.
  */
-static int cookie_output(struct Curl_easy *data,
-                         struct CookieInfo *c, const char *filename)
+static CURLcode cookie_output(struct Curl_easy *data,
+                              struct CookieInfo *c, const char *filename)
 {
   struct Cookie *co;
   FILE *out = NULL;
   bool use_stdout = FALSE;
   char *tempstore = NULL;
-  bool error = false;
+  CURLcode error = CURLE_OK;
 
   if(!c)
     /* no cookie engine alive */
-    return 0;
+    return CURLE_OK;
 
   /* at first, remove expired cookies */
   remove_expired(c);
@@ -1600,11 +1600,13 @@ static int cookie_output(struct Curl_easy *data,
 
     tempstore = aprintf("%s.%s.tmp", filename, randsuffix);
     if(!tempstore)
-      return 1;
+      return CURLE_OUT_OF_MEMORY;
 
     out = fopen(tempstore, FOPEN_WRITETEXT);
-    if(!out)
+    if(!out) {
+      error = CURLE_WRITE_ERROR;
       goto error;
+    }
   }
 
   fputs("# Netscape HTTP Cookie File\n"
@@ -1619,6 +1621,7 @@ static int cookie_output(struct Curl_easy *data,
 
     array = calloc(1, sizeof(struct Cookie *) * c->numcookies);
     if(!array) {
+      error = CURLE_OUT_OF_MEMORY;
       goto error;
     }
 
@@ -1636,8 +1639,8 @@ static int cookie_output(struct Curl_easy *data,
     for(i = 0; i < nvalid; i++) {
       char *format_ptr = get_netscape_format(array[i]);
       if(!format_ptr) {
-        fprintf(out, "#\n# Fatal libcurl error\n");
         free(array);
+        error = CURLE_OUT_OF_MEMORY;
         goto error;
       }
       fprintf(out, "%s\n", format_ptr);
@@ -1652,18 +1655,24 @@ static int cookie_output(struct Curl_easy *data,
     out = NULL;
     if(Curl_rename(tempstore, filename)) {
       unlink(tempstore);
+      error = CURLE_WRITE_ERROR;
       goto error;
     }
   }
 
-  goto cleanup;
+  /*
+   * If we reach here we have successfully written a cookie file so theree is
+   * no need to inspect the error, any error case should have jumped into the
+   * error block below.
+   */
+  free(tempstore);
+  return CURLE_OK;
+
 error:
-  error = true;
-cleanup:
   if(out && !use_stdout)
     fclose(out);
   free(tempstore);
-  return error ? 1 : 0;
+  return error;
 }
 
 static struct curl_slist *cookie_list(struct Curl_easy *data)
@@ -1710,6 +1719,8 @@ struct curl_slist *Curl_cookie_list(struct Curl_easy *data)
 
 void Curl_flush_cookies(struct Curl_easy *data, bool cleanup)
 {
+  CURLcode res;
+
   if(data->set.str[STRING_COOKIEJAR]) {
     if(data->state.cookielist) {
       /* If there is a list of cookie files to read, do it first so that
@@ -1721,9 +1732,10 @@ void Curl_flush_cookies(struct Curl_easy *data, bool cleanup)
     Curl_share_lock(data, CURL_LOCK_DATA_COOKIE, CURL_LOCK_ACCESS_SINGLE);
 
     /* if we have a destination file for all the cookies to get dumped to */
-    if(cookie_output(data, data->cookies, data->set.str[STRING_COOKIEJAR]))
-      infof(data, "WARNING: failed to save cookies in %s\n",
-            data->set.str[STRING_COOKIEJAR]);
+    res = cookie_output(data, data->cookies, data->set.str[STRING_COOKIEJAR]);
+    if(res)
+      infof(data, "WARNING: failed to save cookies in %s: %s\n",
+            data->set.str[STRING_COOKIEJAR], curl_easy_strerror(res));
   }
   else {
     if(cleanup && data->state.cookielist) {