Tips on How Not to Burn Cookies

Burned your cookies and you're not sure why? Well, there are a few possibilities and any of them can happen to anyone. Let me offer a ray of hope and tell a few ways to prevent your cookies from burning.

For starters, have your oven at the suggested recipe temperature. The recipe gives you the temperature for a reason, so preheat your oven and make sure it is hot enough. It's also good to know your oven's hot spots because most ovens are temperamental. For example, I have a side by side double oven and know for a fact that the oven on the right gets hotter faster and cooks faster; the cookies on the right will be done before the ones on the left every time. So when the recipe says 7 to 10 minutes, I would suggest to start out with 7 minutes and then keep an eye on them from there. I know for a fact, that for my ovens, it usually takes less than the suggested time for the cookies to bake in my ovens. So I usually set the time at the lowest time or in the middle.

The crucial thing to remember is don't forget to turn on your timer and look at the clock when you put your cookies in to know what time to take them out. If you don't start a timer and don't look at the clock, plus you forget about your cookies, then don't be surprised if they don't come out as you would like them:not burned or overly brown.

Another thing I learned, a long time ago and recently noticed, is that if you use parchment paper, your cookies won't stick to the pan and it takes a little bit longer for them get brown and darken too much. The other benefit to using parchment paper is that you can use it more than once if you turn it over. Plus, you are using less as well as reusing and doing your part to help the earth!

Hopefully these suggestions will help and encourage those who are talented cookie burners.

Happy baking!