Cookies are a real delicacy when they are well cooked. Every single minute is important when cooking, so the advice is to set the timer to the minimum recommended time. When it rings, open the oven door and check their consistency. Also check to see if they have darkened just a little, but not to the point where they are burnt. Remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool and enjoy a delicious and well-deserved snack.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Do a Visual Check
Step 1. Check the browning level of the edges
Cookies made from a light dough change color during cooking. The center remains a light shade, while the edges may turn light brown or dark golden. Be careful to pull them out before the edges turn dark brown, otherwise they will be burnt.
With this method, for example, you can test the doneness of those made with peanut or oat butter and other types of drip cookies
Step 2. Check the surface color of the crankset
If you have garnished the cookies with brown sugar or grains, check that the surface does not get too dark. It must be golden brown, but if you wait too long it can burn and turn dark brown.
If you are making bar cookies that only need to be garnished towards the end of cooking, keep an eye on the surface to prevent it from burning. The inside is usually perfectly cooked at this point
Step 3. Check the surface for cracks
Cookies that contain little flour, such as chocolate fudge, are ready when they crack on the surface, in the center and along the edges. It can be helpful to take a look at a photo of a well-cooked cookie before you even bake, so you know what to expect. The varieties of this type are characterized by a certain consistency and a not very bright color.
Step 4. Remove them from the oven when they are still slightly puffy and soft
When these cookies are ready, they need to hold their shape, but they can also have a slightly puffy, soft appearance in the center. This is normal and only indicates that they will probably continue to cook on the plate or pan even after they have been removed from the oven.
Taking out the cookies at this stage will make them soft and chewy. By overcooking them, on the other hand, there is a risk that they become excessively crumbly
Step 5. Avoid trusting the appearance when making dark colored cookies
Very often, if they begin to darken noticeably, it means that they are already overcooked. To avoid this, it is better to test the degree of cooking directly, without limiting yourself to a visual check.
Method 2 of 4: Directly Testing Its Consistency
Step 1. Press the edges with your fingers
Open the oven door, partially remove the pan and lightly touch the edges of a biscuit with your fingers or a scoop. If the edge remains firm and does not collapse, the cookies are ready. If the trace that remains is very visible, they probably need a few more minutes of cooking.
- This method is ideal for dark-colored cookies, such as chocolate or gingerbread cookies, where coloring is not the most reliable cooking index.
- If you decide to use your fingers, be very careful, because touching the pan you risk burning yourself.
- If you are preparing crumbly biscuits such as shortbreads, do not press on the edges, but in the center. This will prevent them from breaking on contact.
Step 2. Lift the cookie to check the underside
Open the door of the oven and slide the spatula under a biscuit, reaching up to halfway. Just lift it a little and check what color it is underneath - it should be light brown or golden, with a firm texture.
- Be very careful as you lift it, as you risk it splitting in two.
- This method is good for filled biscuits and other varieties with a little color on the surface.
Step 3. Insert a toothpick into the cookie dough
Sometimes it is difficult to test the doneness of the bars, due to their consistency and burnished color. Take a toothpick or a skewer and insert it into the cake, until it reaches about halfway. Pick up the toothpick. If crumbs or traces of dough remain on its surface, the biscuit is not ready yet.
It is important that the toothpick or skewer is made of wood. The metal ones don't work as well, because the crumbs slide off
Method 3 of 4: Monitor Cooking Times
Step 1. Follow the recipe instructions
Before starting to knead the dough and bake the cookies, read the recipe carefully. You may need to change the pan or even the oven temperature halfway through cooking. If you decide to change the ingredients list, keep in mind that cooking times and oven temperature may also vary.
Step 2. Use a timer, setting it to the minimum recommended time
Immediately after baking the cookies, set a kitchen timer, an oven timer or even an external timer. This allows you to closely monitor the doneness and prevent the cookies from burning.
The timer must be loud enough to be audible in other rooms of the house as well
Step 3. When the time runs out, check the doneness in one minute intervals
Since the set time is the minimum recommended, when it expires you have to keep an eye on the cooking as it progresses. With every minute that passes, take a look at the cookies through the glass of the door, or open the oven and do a direct check.
It is not an operation to do from the beginning, but only at the end of cooking. Opening the oven briefly does not affect its internal temperature
Method 4 of 4: Create Optimal Cooking Conditions
Step 1. Check the oven temperature
Use an oven thermometer to check that the temperature reached is the correct one. It is a tool that you can buy without much expense and that can save you a whole series of burnt cookies.
Step 2. Adapt cooking times and temperature to the characteristics of the pan
Brown colored ones (cast iron, for example) retain heat more effectively, so it may be necessary to reduce the temperature. Stainless steel ones reflect heat outward, so you may need to add 1-2 minutes of cooking. If you find that the cookies are scorched on the bottom, try lowering the temperature by about 10 degrees.
Step 3. For ease of use, choose a pan without a rim
This type of tray is able to greatly simplify the operation of removing the biscuits when they are ready. They are also more spacious and contain more cookies. To prevent the pan from bending in the heat, choose one made of sturdy metal.
Step 4. Grease the pan before baking
Run a napkin soaked in oil or butter over the bottom and inside edges of the pan. The goal is to evenly distribute a thin layer. You can also use a spray food remover, otherwise you can opt for a sheet of parchment paper.
Step 5. Make only one batch at a time
Place the pan on the middle shelf. If you put more than one pan, you risk overcrowding the oven and altering the cooking times. If, on the other hand, you have to put two trays in the oven, at least swap them every now and then, in order to ensure cooking as evenly as possible.
Step 6. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet
After taking them out of the oven, let them sit on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Then gently lift them one by one, with the help of a scoop, and transfer them to a rack, which must be raised from the counter by at least 5-7 cm. Otherwise, condensation will form under the biscuits.
Step 7. If you are in the high mountains, adjust the cooking parameters
In this case you may need to vary the list of ingredients slightly and monitor the progress of cooking even more carefully. If the cookies tend to be too bulky or burn, start reducing the amount of butter, other fats and sugar. Cooking time can also vary.
Advice
- When you put the piles of dough on the pan, be careful to space them at least 5 cm. This will give them all the space they need to swell during cooking.
- Carefully weigh all the ingredients.
Warnings
- Wash your hands before handling raw ingredients such as flour to avoid getting food poisoning.
- When opening and closing the oven, wear a glove or use a silicone pot holder. The kitchen towel is usually not thick enough to protect you from the heat.
