Why You Should Use 2 Baking Sheets At Once For Some Cookie Types

Baking cookies spreads joy, smiles, sweet cravings, and delicious smells throughout the house, and is especially popular around the holidays. Let's face it, you don't have to be a professional chef to whip up an irresistible batch of cookies. According to Milk Jar Cookies, it's believed cookies were invented by accident. Clearly they're quite an easy dessert to make. However, sometimes even your famous chocolate chip cookie recipe that you've perfect for years can bake differently if external factors change. If your batch of cookies is showing those unsightly burnt bottoms, it might not be the oven's fault.

Believe it or not, according to Hy-Vee, the color of your baking sheet matters. If you have a darker baking sheet, your cookies are likely to burn compared to a lighter colored baking sheet. Dark colors absorb heat much easier, similar to how you'll feel hotter when you wear dark clothing in the sun. However, if you don't have time to go out and buy a lighter colored baking sheet, we've got just the solution for you.

Going out and buying a light-colored baking sheet may solve your problems, but it will take up a chunk of time. If you want to prevent those burnt bottoms without leaving the house, there's a way. According to Pastries Like a Pro, stacking two baking sheets on top of each other and baking your cookies on top is a great way to prevent burning. This method of double-panning allows the bottoms of the baking sheets to absorb the heat at a slower rate, leaving you with perfectly cooked cookies. However, because the heat is approaching the pans much more slowly, you may need to bump up your timer a few extra minutes in order to cook them properly. From there, simply bake your cookies at the oven temperature the recipe states, and place them on any rack in the oven.

While this method works for all cookie recipes, there are certain types of cookies that yield burnt bottoms more than others. Cookie recipes using brown sugar, honey, molasses, or corn syrup are more likely to produce this problem. In fact, according to The Spruce Eats, double-panning is quite necessary when making rugelach in order to produce a decadent caramelization without the burning.