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Crazy for Cookies

Kowalski's Cookie Dough Tubs Kowalski's Cookie Dough Tubs

Whether you make them yourself or try one of our new Signature Cookie Dough Tubs, fill your cookie jar with the best using our pro cookie-baking tips:
 

  • Get an oven thermometer. Not only are the thermostats on most home ovens inaccurate, but they also get worse over time.
      
     
  • Preheat your oven completely. This helps to properly set the texture of your baked goods. Never try to speed up a recipe by cooking it at a higher temperature, nor should you try to cook something longer at a lower temperature.
      
     
  • Make all cookies the same size so they'll bake evenly. Use a scale or cookie scoop if you have one. Another trick that works pretty well is to shape dough into a log, then cut it in half. Cut halves in half again, repeating until you have the desired size or number of pieces.
      
     
  • If you like the look of cracks on top of a cookie as opposed to a smoother top, try this trick: form balls, then pull them in half. Press halves back together with the rough edges on top. Squeeze and press the edges and bottom a bit to ensure a nice round shape and slightly flat bottom.
      
     
  • Parchment paper not only makes cleanup a breeze, it also preserves the life of your pans and helps baked goods brown more evenly. But don't mistake it for or try to substitute waxed paper or foil!
Peanut Butter Cookies on Sheet Pan Peanut Butter Cookies on Sheet Pan
  • Space cookies evenly on the baking sheet and give the proper amount of space between cookies as directed by the recipe.
      
     
  • Don't put dough on a hot sheet pan. When baking multiple trays, use more than one or allow the pan to cool before placing dough balls on the sheet.
      
     
  • Baking pans without sides (sometimes called cookie sheets) will bake more evenly. This is because dough that's placed too close to the edge of a pan will be affected by heat radiating off the metal rim.
      
     
  • Cookies will bake faster on a dark pan and have darker bottoms and crispier edges than those baked on a shiny aluminum pan. Some bakers with dark pans compensate by reducing their oven temperature slightly and/or baking their cookies longer.
      
     
  • Insulated sheet pans are ideal for preventing thin or delicate cookies from browning too quickly. The tops and bottoms will come out evenly baked and evenly and lightly colored, which is especially great for pale-colored sugar cookies. These pans bake more slowly that traditional non-insulated pans, though, so adjust the cook time accordingly.
      
     
  • Cookies will also bake differently if you bake more than one pan at a time, especially if the racks are close together or the pans are close to the top or bottom heating elements. For best results, bake pans one at a time and rotate them halfway through.
      
     
  • Follow time guidelines for baking, but if visual or other cues for doneness are listed, use those with judgment rather than relying solely on the time. If a time range is given, start checking for doneness no later than the shorter end of the time range.
      
     
  • Unless directed otherwise in the recipe, let cookies cool on the pan until set before moving cookies to a baking rack to cool.