What if I’m baking two batches at once?
- Place one sheet on the middle rack and one sheet on the top rack.
- Add two minutes to the total bake time.
- Switch the two sheets halfway through.
18.10.2018
Baking two trays of cookies at a time is fairly standard, but if your oven has space for more, three or four can be used. Industrial ovens often have five or six racks. Putting four trays of cookies in an oven will still not affect the cooking time, but the trays may still need to be rotated for even browning.
Even if they are completely cooled, frosted cookies should never be stacked on one another. You’ll end up with a stuck-together mess. Preserve your decorated cookies by setting them all out in one layer, wrapping them individually or by using parchment or waxed paper between layers of cookies.
Bake a tray of cookies on the bottom rack, and it’s pretty likely you’ll have burnt bottoms. But move the rack into the right place, and your food will be more likely to cook right, too.
Spacing Out Your Cookies
Leave at least two inches between each of them so that they don’t spread into each other in the oven.
So long as they end up evenly flat, that is; squashing cookies haphazardly under your palm means they may bake and brown unevenly. Still, if you care deeply (or even casually) about the look of your cookies, you can take the flattening step as an opportunity for enhancement. The bottom of a glass works fine, it’s true.
What rack is best for baking?
The middle oven rack is the happy place where air is circulating, the heat sources are evenly distributed, and tops and bottoms aren’t in danger of burning or browning too quickly. It’s the perfect place for cakes, cookies, and brownies to stay and bake.
If you absolutely need to bake more than one batch at a time for an event, holiday baking, etc– rotate the baking sheets from the top rack to bottom rack once halfway through the baking process.
Oven Temperature
Generally, cookies are baked in a moderate oven — 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) — for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. For chewy cookies, allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Cookie temperatures fluctuate, with some recipes as low as 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and a few as high as 425 degrees Fahrenheit, but most recipes land on 375 or 350 to evenly bake the entirety of the cookie.
Does it take longer to cook 2 things in the oven?
Can you cook 2 or more dishes in the oven at once? Yes. Most people fret when it comes to cooking two dishes at once, but it’s your oven’s job to keep the internal temperature set to what you selected. It may have to work a little harder when two or more cold dishes are inserted but trust that it will do its job.
How do you bake two trays?
If you have a conventional oven then you can rotate the pans part of the way through the baking time. If you have two pans on the same shelf then turn the pans 180 degrees. If you have pans on different shelves then you need to swap the pans between the shelves.
Why do ovens only come with one shelf?
It’s really common for us to be asked to supply a spare oven wire rack, wire shelf or an extra one as quite often a new cooker or oven will only come with one in it. This is actually normal practice and really just a way to keep costs down and, as you read through this article you’ll understand why that is.
Over time, the moisture in the cookies evaporates, leaving them stiff and crumbly. It’s the same thing that happens to breads, muffins, and other baked goods. The longer they sit, the more stale they become. Thus, the best, most foolproof way to prevent cookies from going stale is to eat them the day they were baked.
pans can hold 12 to 15 cookies and are also great for roasting vegetables for family dinners. Most standard ovens will only fit one of these pans at a time on each rack. For bigger batches, we suggest the 11 x 17 in. pans, which can hold 15 to 20 cookies.
“When your dough is refrigerated, the butter hardens. So when you bake them, they spread less and hold their shape better,” adds Epperson. “Which means a better likelihood of a soft, chewy cookie in the center.” So chilling the dough before baking means fluffier cookies with better consistency.
How to make cookies spread
- Do not refrigerate your cookie dough before shaping the cookies.
- Use melted butter rather than softened room temperature butter.
- Increase the fat content in the cookies.
- Use more white sugar and less brown sugar.
- Make sure your baking powder is not old.
- Add more liquid to your batter.
Lining a baking sheet when making cookies: Not only will the parchment help cookies bake more evenly, the non-stick quality also helps prevent them from cracking or breaking when lifting them off the sheet. Decorating home-baked goods: Parchment paper makes the perfect wrapper for baked goods.
Cookie dough can be mixed by hand or with an electric mixer. Take butter or margarine from refrigerator 10-15 minutes before using or cut into 1-inch pieces so it will blend more easily and evenly with other ingredients.
Instead of greasing your cookie sheet, line it with a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Either will prevent sticking and help protect the bottoms of your cookies.
In short, your cookies may have burned on the bottom because your oven temperature readings are off, your cookie sheet is too dark, your cookies were baked on a lower rack, the heat was too high, or you baked the cookies right on the sheet without any parchment paper.
Does an oven bake from the top or bottom?
A conventional oven generally has two heating elements, one on top and one on the bottom. For most cooking (other than broiling), only the bottom element is used with the heat rising to the top.
Most cookies have top crusts that remain relatively soft and flexible as the cookies set during baking. However, if the top surface dries out before the cookie is finished spreading and rising, it hardens, cracks, and pulls apart, producing an attractive crinkly, cracked exterior.
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for your cookie dough until they are light and fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes on a medium/high speed. Scrape down the bowl at least once about half way through the mixture.
Follow our simple tips and techniques and you’ll turn out perfect cookies every time.
- Bake Better Cookies.
- Soften Your Butter.
- Creaming Butter.
- Measure Your Flour Correctly.
- Line Your Pans With Parchment Paper.
- Add Eggs One at a Time.
- Add Flour or Dry Ingredients in Batches.
- Fold in Chocolate Chips by Hand.
The short answer is, you can expect to bake cookies at 350 degrees F for between 8 to 12 minutes. That said, a lot needs to be put into consideration when determining how long to bake your cookies – the type of cookies, the size of the cookies, and the content in the dough.
Keeping them on the sheet too long after baking can cause them to get hard or stick to the sheet. Cookies are done when they are firmly set and lightly browned. When you touch them lightly with your finger, almost no imprint will remain.
Preheat oven 10 to 15 minutes before baking the first sheet or pan of cookies. Check oven temperature with an oven thermometer.
Can I bake 2 Meatloafs at the same time?
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Divide in half and form two loaves. Bake for 1 hour. Brush the top of the loaves with glaze.
Do smaller ovens cook faster?
Small oven cooking tips
Broiling in a small oven will create higher food temperatures more quickly because the heating element is closer to the food.
What is the hottest part of the oven?
Your oven is hottest around its periphery: sides, bottom, and top. The closer you get to those metal walls, the hotter the air. Thus anything baked towards the periphery will bake and brown more quickly than anything baked in the center of the oven.
How do you bake 3 cakes at once?
If you need to cook three cakes at a time, place two on the bottom rack, spaced apart, and one on the rack above and in between the other two. Move the cakes twice during cooking so that each cake spends an equal amount of time in each position. TOP = PALE Cakes stacked above each other disrupt heat flow in the oven.
What is the best oven brand?
Our Top Oven Picks
- Best Overall: GE Profile 30-Inch Smart Built-In Convection Oven with No Preheat Air Fry and Precision Cooking.
- Best Budget Oven: Whirlpool 5.0 cu.
- Best Gas Oven: Frigidaire 24-Inch Gas Oven.
- Best Splurge Oven: Jenn-Air NOIR 30-Inch Oven with V2 Vertical Dual-Fan Convection.
Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They’ll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven’s hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.
Rest the Dough A secret baker’s trick is to rest your cookie dough in the fridge. You can rest it for at least an hour, which will evaporate some of the water and increase the sugar content, helping to keep your cookies chewy. The longer you allow your dough to rest in the fridge, the chewier your cookies will be.
(Exactly) How to Make Cookies Moist: 9 Easy Ways
- Add Cream Cheese to the Dough. What is this?
- Use Instant Pudding Mix in the Dough.
- Use Brown Sugar instead of White Sugar.
- Underbake the Cookies Slightly.
- Add Sour Cream.
- Add Corn Syrup.
- Store on Sheets of Wax Paper with a Slice of Bread.
- Use Shortening.
Should I grease my cookie sheets? Unless the recipe tells you to grease the cookie sheet, resist the impulse. The extra grease causes cookie dough (which already contains a lot of fat) to spread. If you’re concerned about cookies sticking, line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone non-stick mat.
The main difference comes down to the rim. Sheet pans and jelly roll pans have a tall rim that’s typically around an inch high. Baking sheets and cookie sheets typically have either no rim or one slightly raised grabbing edge.
From the Fridge:
If you can scoop it (some doughs are too hard), go straight to the oven, though you will likely need to give them a minute longer baking time. This is actually beneficial for some doughs that spread a lot and some recipes actually call for a quick refrigeration.
Chilling cookie dough controls spread.
Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat.
Water vapor escaping from the dough in combination with the carbon dioxide released by our baking soda is ultimately what makes our cookies light and airy.
Cookies spread because the fat in the cookie dough melts in the oven. If there isn’t enough flour to hold that melted fat, the cookies will over-spread. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour. If your cookies are still spreading, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough.
Eggs
- If you want a flatter cookie, eliminate 1 egg and cut back the flour to 2 cups.
- If you like a really crunchy cookie, add another egg white because it helps to dry out baked goods.
- If you prefer a moist and chewy cookie, eliminate one egg white and add 2 TBSP of milk.
Not Enough Flour
If your cookies are flat, brown, crispy, and possibly even a bit lacy around the edges, that means you need to add flour to your dough for the next batch. Our cookies were brittle and greasy and cooked much faster than the other dough balls on the sheet.
As a general rule, you can bake cookies without a cookie sheet by using any tray, dish, or bakeware that could be used in the oven. You can use a regular cake pan, glass pan, pizza tray, or disposable aluminum foil tray.
Which side of parchment paper goes down?
There is no right or wrong side to parchment paper, so either side can be used. For the best baking results, use a fresh sheet of parchment paper for each pan of cookies.
“When ingredients are heated, especially chocolate, jelly and sugar, they can become sticky and hard, making them likely to adhere to the paper. This is fairly unavoidable, since these ingredients are in most pastries,” states Richards.
If you mix (or roll out) cookie dough too much, you’ll add excess air to the dough, causing it to rise and then fall flat in the oven. Overmixing the dough can also lead to excess gluten development, resulting in dense cookies.
So long as they end up evenly flat, that is; squashing cookies haphazardly under your palm means they may bake and brown unevenly. Still, if you care deeply (or even casually) about the look of your cookies, you can take the flattening step as an opportunity for enhancement. The bottom of a glass works fine, it’s true.
Mixing and Blending Techniques
| METHOD | WHEN TO USE |
|---|---|
| TRADITIONAL MIXING METHODS | |
| Creaming Method (Fat-Sugar, Cake or Conventional) | SHORTENED (BUTTER) CAKES COOKIES |
| All Ingredient Method (Single Stage, Quick-Mix, One Bowl or Dump) | SOME CAKES and CAKE MIXES |
| Biscuit Method | QUICK-BREADS (Biscuits and scones) |
Cookies should (almost) always be baked on the middle rack of the oven. The middle rack offers the most even heat and air circulation which helps cookies bake consistently.
Bake at 375 degrees F until golden and tender, 12 to 15 minutes. For crispy-cakey cookies: Bake the cookies at 425 degrees F until golden and crunchy on the outside, 8 to 10 minutes.
Prevent Burned Cookies
Usually cookies have enough fat in them to not stick. If you’re concerned about sticking, use parchment paper to line the pan, as it won’t promote over-browning. Parchment paper also makes it so sticky ingredients don’t make a mess of your pan; it guarantees easy clean up.
They go from soft to hard because they start to dry out, and it begins as soon as you pull them from the oven. (Yikes.) Whatever moisture is left in the cookies is always in a state of evaporation. At the same time, the sugars and starches are solidifying.
Can parchment paper go in the oven?
It’s also called baking or bakery paper. Brown parchment is unbleached, while white parchment is chemically treated to remove the paper’s natural color. Parchment can be used in the oven and microwave. Most brands are oven-safe up to 420 F, though you should always check the manufacturer’s recommendation.
If you put that cookie dough on a hot baking sheet, the butter begins to melt prematurely, which wrecks its even distribution in your recipe. The bottom and edges of your cookies will begin to spread, leaving the center of your cookies to bake unequally (imagine a hat-shaped cookie).