It can be so frustrating to pull your cookies out of the oven, only to find out that some are under-baked while others are over-baked. If you have ever had this problem, you need to read this article. A few of our readers have shared some helpful tips to help avoid unevenly baked cookies.
Tracy Mattson
Tracy Mattson is a professionally trained pastry chef and owner of COOKIE…take a bite!
Check the Oven
Baking is a combination of art and science. To make a good cookie, you need to understand both to be successful. Baking can’t be rushed, so let’s break it down to make sure your cookies are even when coming out of the oven. The two main factors for cookie baking success are time and temperature.
If your cookies come out uneven, you must focus on the oven. Ovens rarely bake even – there is often a cold spot or an area that gets more heat.
First, get a handy oven temperature gauge to check the oven temperature – just because the dial says 325 degrees, it might not be that temperature in the oven. Once you know the real temperature, let’s focus on an even bake. If your cookies are baking unevenly, it is probably due to the heat in your oven being uneven.
Rotating your sheet pan during baking is a quick method to combat this common issue. A good rule of thumb is to rotate halfway through the baking time. That should help prevent the issue!
5 Tips for Evenly Baked Cookies
● The first rule of troubleshooting baking issues is to check your equipment, most notably, your oven. Buy an oven thermometer and ensure your oven runs at the correct temperature. Also, most recipes are written for “still” ovens, not convection ovens.
If you are using convection, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees from the recipe’s recommendation to account for the more powerful baking that a convection oven can provide. [However], every oven is different: getting to know your oven’s quirks by doing test batches is a good way to tailor your baking to suit your equipment.
● Another factor can be under-mixed cookie dough. If the dough is not well mixed, there can be pockets of fat, like butter or shortening, that melt out of a cookie, making it bake unevenly. The batter should look evenly mixed throughout.
● Make your cookies consistent in size and shape. I prefer a cookie scoop to a guessing game of, “does each cookie look the same.” A small investment in a professional cookie scoop is well worth it. Make each cookie the same size, and they should all bake evenly.
● Give your cookies space to “breathe.” Make sure that the cookies are spaced out with room for the oven’s heat to circulate each one. If you place your cookies too close together, not only can they end up baking into each other, but they don’t have the full benefit of the hot air circulation the oven is designed to provide.
● Lastly, using inexpensive cookie sheets can ruin all the effort put into an afternoon of baking. Use heavy, parchment-lined baking sheets that can tolerate [regular] use.
Sandra Palmer
Sandra Palmer is the chef-instructor of Pastry & Baking Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE).
Louisa Nicholson
Louisa Nicholson, Founder of EveryVeganRecipe.com.
Be Consistent and Patient
Make sure you are using the same size of dough when placing it onto the cookie sheet. The easiest way to be consistent here is to use a tool instead of your hands to measure the size of the dough [balls].
For cut-out cookies or sliced cookies, be sure the thickness is even on all the cookies. You can use a ruler to help if you need to. When using the rolling pin, you can use the help of thickness rings to ensure a stable thickness.
Make sure you are baking your cookies on a single cookie sheet placed in the direct center of your oven. While it might seem like an efficient idea to cook more than one batch at a time, this directly affects how the heat circulates in the oven. Having the cookies on one sheet in the center of the oven will guarantee optimal circulation.
One type of cookie sheet that was made specifically to bake cookies evenly is called an insulated cookie sheet. You might have to adjust the cooking time of your recipe since these sheets cook more slowly than regular metal sheets.
Check the Temperature
Some ovens have inaccurate temperatures. You may think you’re setting your oven to 350 degrees, but the actual temperature in the oven might be somewhere near 375 degrees.
To ensure you get the correct baking temperature, invest in an oven thermometer, place it inside the oven before you preheat it, and adjust the oven temperature based on what you see on the thermometer.
Another way to fix this is to get your oven calibrated. Oven calibration is the process of adjusting an oven’s temperature settings to ensure that the temperature reading is consistent with the temperature in your oven. If you’re unsure how to do it yourself, you can get it done professionally.
If you don’t have a thermometer or can’t get your oven calibrated, don’t fret. There are other options!
Bake a test cookie at the temperature listed on the recipe and observe the result. If the cookie spreads too much or looks under-done by the end of cooking, increase the temperature by 25 degrees. If the cookie looks overbaked or if it didn’t spread enough, lower the temperature by 25 degrees.
Baking cookies doesn’t have to be stressful; if your oven is actively trying to sabotage you, try these tips for success every time!
Jarin Humphrey
Jarin Humphrey is the owner of Tower of Bougie.
Wilhelmina “Billie” Zeelen
Wilhelmina “Billie” Zeelen is a chemist and the owner of Bzice.
Five Easy Fixes
When it comes to baking, it can be frustrating when a batch of cookies doesn’t cook evenly. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to combat this. Here are the five best ways to help prevent this:
1. Evenly-sized Cookies
The cookies should all be evenly sized. This allows them to cook at the same speed and helps prevent some from being over or undercooked.
2. Sugar Content
Ensure you are not using an excessive amount of sugar when adding your cookie ingredients. This can cause some of the cookies to burn quicker than others.
3. Position of the Baking Sheet
You will want to ensure the cookies are placed directly in the center of the oven. This gives them the best chance of cooking evenly.
4. Baking the Correct Number of Cookies
If you try to bake more than one batch of cookies at a time, this will affect how evenly the cookies bake. Keeping to one batch of cookies at a time will encourage more even cooking.
5. Cooking Time
The cookies should be baked for the correct amount of time. Too little, or too long can impact the cookies and cause some to be over or under-baked.
Keep Cookie Trays Cool
Burning can often occur when the cookies have different thicknesses, causing some to cook quicker than others, particularly around the edges. To ensure the cookie doesn’t spread and become too thin, make sure your baking tray has fully cooled off from the previous batch.
Aysegul Sanford
Aysegul Sanford is a Food blogger and owner of Foolproof Living.
This is a crowdsourced article. Contributors’ statements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this website, other people, businesses, or other contributors.